Yeah, so I finally finished reading this…I’d recommend it (even if it is old…it’s a good reminder text…for how you could be using your time).
I’m a shocker for time wasting and procrastination…mostly because I like things to be ‘just so’. This book was a good motivator in terms of collaboration and how tech can make the world a better place (awww). Seriously.
There were a few bits which stood out for me:
If you give people a way to act on their desire for autonomy and competence or generosity and sharing, they might take you up on it….however, if you only pretend to offer an outlet for those motivations, while actually slotting people into a scripted experience, they may well revolt.
The Ultimatum Game - there is an assumption that the less market driven a culture is, the greater the likelihood that its members will be naturally generous and open when the opposite is actually the case. WHAT? Selfishness and market forces correlate but in the opposite way to what you’d expect. Markets support generous interactions with strangers rather than undermining them.
Exposure to market logic actually increases our willingness to transact generously with strangers…
I may post some more highlights…laters..drip feed style.
It’s an interesting book - read it.
Cognitive Surplus (creativity and generosity in a connected world) - Clay Shirky
