clay

Bowling alone with the web

Despite some not-so-obvious arguments ("Media that's targeted at you but doesn't include you may not be worth sitting still for"), the transcript for a recent Clay Shirky speech reveals some highly intriguing thoughts. The basic gist is that society's collective crises of togetherness give way to more productive management of such crises. We learn how to cope with rising complexity, in short.

Shirky argues that gin was society's early response to the Industrial Revolution ("I can't deal with this, I'd better drink"), and that modern society's response to modernization (More people entering the workforce, etc.) is the sitcom ("I can't deal with this, I'd better watch TV"). I don't know that he's pinpointed the correct "outlet" on our frustrations, but it makes sense that it would take time for societies to effectively channel abundance.

Chris Anderson comments on Shirky's speech, suggesting that "it takes a generation or two to figure out how to properly use some resource that used to be scarce but is now abundant. In this case that resource is time...." Anderson believes we've found our way beyond the TV to "fill [our time] more productively, and to greater satisfaction."

I'm not so sure. In fact, I think the opposite is happening, at least in my life. I've already commented once on my addiction to the web. Unfortunately, my kids are learning the same addictions from me and from my wife.… Read more

Supernova 2008: Leveraging the network for social action

"We are not really wired to grok massive networks of billions of people and billions of connections." That's how Kevin Werbach of the Wharton School kicked off Supernova 2008 in San Francisco. The new study of network science hasn't evolved to a point where we understand enough about the properties of networks to apply the learnings to everyday life and social action.

Clay Shirky , adjunct professor in NYU's graduate Interactive Telecommunications Program and author of Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations, talked about collective action as a network dynamic. It turns out … Read more

HP tries to mold new image with 'Clay'

If we didn't know better, we might suspect that HP has undergone a makeover on TLC's What Not to Wear. The historically stodgey computer maker flashed a little bit of skin recently with its fashion-conscious Bluetooth mouse, and now it's making an even louder statement with its "Clay" laptop.

No, you can't make pottery out of it, but the special-edition computer goes beyond just new colors. In addition to its bronze-hued shell, according to Chip Chick, the laptop sports a textured interior surface that resembles brushed molding clay.

The innards are nothing to write … Read more