Clay Shirky-Balance of Power

I am amazed at the power of social media and what it will mean for the future. The balance of clout in corporate America and elsewhere is shifting (at times rapidly). The effects of social media and the ability to mass a protest, battle, or give transparency to inequalities is indescribable. Thinking back to the days of Vietnam protests and civil rights protests, the manpower (physically) to amass large crowds was daunting. Shirky points out that collective action differs than individual action in that they are difficult to get started but there is a downside; collective action is harder to halt abruptly. One might think collective action is always a benefit (most of the time), but there is an ugly side of groups turning on corporations with malice intent. Society can bring an institution to their knees with a stroke of a key and a few determined individuals. Learning to use these new tools and harnessing the “power of the people” will be the biggest challenge. People can get involved without ever leaving their homes and maintain an invisible effort for a cause. The idea that most people had to have desire to get involved has changed. The risk of exposure and retaliation has lessened with the advancement of social media. The advantage of consumerism now provides economic strength and is growing stronger every day. Consumers’ realizing they have more clout and the ability to demand accountability is changing how we acquire goods and commodities. We share information and the exchange brings the long-awaited transparency that is overdue. We need to consume, and lessening of the bureaucracy of governmental deterrents and giving a shield to the corporate giants is slowly deteriorating. Technology will only improve, providing better tools and hopefully more accountability and transparency. Society is becoming educated in the power of social media and holds promise for the future. I believe this new medium is one of the significant revolutions for the history books.