"We're looking for the mouse" May 21, 2008

A huge thank you goes out to my friend Dean Collins at Amethon for turning me on to this video. It took me three tries to get all the way through – an equipment and connectivity problem on my end – and it was well worth the effort. Clay Shirky said more in 10 minutes than a lot of people say in 10 times that.

A teaser….what do gin, Desperate Housewives and a mouse have in common?

Here’s the link to the video on Dean’s blog:

Here’s the permalink to the video:
http://blip.tv/file/855937

And a link to Clay Shirky’s new book “Here Comes Everybody“.

Three key take-aways:

1. Media is a triathlon – people want to consume, produce and share.
2. A screen that ships without a mouse is broken.
3. Social media isn’t the sort of thing society grows out of; it’s the sort of thing society grows into.

Does he remind anybody else of Tom Hanks? He’s funny, has a great way with words, even looks like him, just with less hair.

His observations about the enormous “cognitive surplus”and the examples he gives about how it is just beginning to be tapped by social media possibilities are fascinating. He frames the conversation in a way that is so easy to understand, and makes the possibilities seem very real. If you enjoyed reading Tipping Point or Freakonomics, you will be fascinated by Clay Shirkey’s observations.