Drape's Takes

Our electronic networks are enabling novel forms of collective action, enabling the creation of collaborative groups that are larger and more distributed than at any other time in history. The scope of work that can be done by noninstitutional groups is a profound challenge to the status quo. (p. 48)

• What kinds of work can be done by noninstitutional groups today that could not be done ten years ago – and how does this change society?

The rungs of the ladder, in order of difficulty, are sharing, cooperation, and collective action… Sharing creates the fewest demands on the participants… Cooperating is harder than simply sharing, because it involves changing your behavior to synchronize with people who are changing their behavior to synchronize with you… Collective action, the third rung, is the hardest kind of group effort, as it requires a group of people to commit themselves with undertaking a particular effort together, and to do so in a way that makes the decision of the group binding ton the individual members. (pp. 49-51)

• Describe your experiences with sharing, cooperation, and collective action.
  
• How do new online tools make these behaviors easier to accomplish?
  
• In what ways might they be more difficult?

• Shirky, C. (2008). Here comes everybody. New York: The Penguin Press.