"Give me a place to stand and a lever long enough, and I will move the world."

This week, we were assigned to read Clay Shirky's book, Here Comes Everybody, which really put into perspective how social media has revolutionized organizations. 

The book began with a story and a few quotes that really resonated with me:

"Give me a place to stand and a lever long enough, and I will move the world." 

Knowing the story makes that quote that much more powerful. The story that Shirky began with was that of Ivanna, Evan, Sascha, and a phone. As many of us have done or will at one point in our lives, Ivanna forgetfully left her phone in a taxi. Having a friend that works in computer programming, she called on Evan to help try to track her Sidekick phone. Eventually, Evan and Ivanna located the phone in the possession of a teenager that through inappropriate responses, refused to return the phone to its owner. Frustrated, Evan took to his computer and the power of the virtual world. To make a long story short, through the power of social media and networking, as well as a well-versed and persistent friend: websites were crashing with debates on theft, the army was notified of a military officer's behavior, the police was pressured to change a report, and a teenage girl was arrested. 

"When we change the way we communicate, we change society." 

The story of Ivanna's phone was all a result of the power of how communication has changed. Shirky further discusses how much of the influence of the phone case was due to the formation of groups and collective opinion on the internet. He looks at social activity on the internet and how technological innovations have revolutionized those activities, opening up an entire new world of possibilities. 

How can we deny that? Let's face it, forming groups has become much easier. Looking at Facebook alone, each one of us is probably a member of 10-20 groups of things we like and dislike. Between Facebook, Twitter, and the hundreds of thousands of forums, the internet has made it easier for individuals to associate themselves with a number of groups. 

While reading this, I couldn't help but remember a book that we read in CCTP 505 (our program's introductory course), Henry Jenkin's Convergence Culture. In his book, Jenkins discusses the importance of collective intelligence or "knowledge cultures" in groups, by using examples of forum groups for reality TV shows such as "Lost" and "Survivor". The internet has facilitated the vehicles of group interests and collective opinion, behavior, and actions. While some groups come together in forums to discuss the next "Survivor", others come together to protest political campaigns, marketing campaigns, and now even teenagers with lost phones. Regarding the issue of the lost phone, Shirky highlighted that Evan's followers were people that had experienced a similar situation and/or sympathized with lost and stolen property, as well as had strong support for justice to be served. Jenkins' acknowledged this sense of emotion in his book: "Emerging knowledge cultures are voluntary, temporary, and tactical affiliations. People only remain in affinity groups as long as they meet the emotional and intellectual needs of the individual" (Jenkins 57).

Via technology, Sascha's arrest was an indirect result of group actions. Whether or not it was a harsh punishment or not, Evan provided another opportunity for individuals to come to together as a group and influence action.