Any system described by a power law [...] has several curious effects. The first is that, by definition, most participants are below average.

The great tension in media has always been that freedom and quality are conflicting goals.

It did not take long after the rise of the commercial printing press before someone figured out that erotic novels were a good idea. ... It took people another 150 years to even think of the scientific journal.

The loss of control you fear is already in the past.

We use the word 'organization' to mean both the state of being organized and the groups that do the organizing.

Indeed, 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.

Collaboration is not an absolute good.