Here Comes Everybody Chapter 9

I don't think I would use Dodgeball, the friend of a friend network phone program described on page 218 and 219.  The idea of complete strangers walking up to me in a bar seems a little odd, and I would have a tough time having a conversation with someone in that situation.  It also seems a little like the "Minority Report" movie situation we discussed in class last week, in which the talking advertisements know Tom Cruise's character's name.

On page 224:  "The Dean Campaign had accidentally created a movement for a passionate few, rather than a vote-getting operation." Because they generated too much bonding capital on line, making people feel good about Dean, and themselves, but not moving them to action through bridging capital. ...And I thought they just ran out of money.

A side lesson might be learned from the two examples cited between pages 227 and 229:  Strong, easily recognized, well-known personalities can build communities online (Joi Ito's IRC channel), or in the real world (Friends of O'Reilly Camp).

The crux of this chapter comes on page 231.  Refering to Ronald Burt's The Social Origins of Good Ideas," Shirky writes: "...bridging caital puts people at greater risk of having good ideas than do any individual traits."  The study found that people with access to information from disparate parts of their company had better ideas (as received by their bosses).  This makes sense, although I'm not sure if that means companies should get their workers Facebooking with each other.  In the real world, this effect might also come into play, but sometimes in less tangible ways.  If you have a social connection with someone, they might suggest a piece of music you never heard of, but discover you like, or if you befriend someone very different online, you might get a viewpoint of the world you otherwise would never have exposure to.  These are good things in a more quiet way.