For most of modern life, our strong talents and desires for group effort have been filtered through relatively rigid institutional structures because of the complexity of managing groups. We haven't had all the groups we've wanted, we've simply had the groups we could afford. The old limits of what unmanaged and unpaid groups can do are no longer in operation.
Clay ShirkyAmateur production, the result of all this new capability, means that the category of โconsumerโ is now a temporary behavior rather than a permanent identity
Clay ShirkyThe threat [of the U.S. bills SOPA and PIPA] is the inversion of the burden of proof, where we suddenly are all treated like thieves at every moment we're given the freedom to create, to produce or to share.
Clay ShirkyThere are three things you need to be a good writer: you need to read a lot, you need to write a lot, and you need a lot of feedback.
Clay ShirkyIndeed, the best practical reason to think that social media can help bring political change is that both dissidents and governments think they can. All over the world, activists believe in the utility of these tools and take steps to use them accordingly. And the governments they contend with think social media tools are powerful, too, and are willing to harass, arrest, exile, or kill users in response.
Clay ShirkySociety doesn't need newspapers. What we need is journalism... When we shift our attention from โsave newspapersโ to โsave societyโ, the imperative changes from โpreserve the current institutionsโ to โdo whatever works.โ And what works today isnโt the same as what used to work.
Clay Shirky