How networked technology enables the emergence of a new collaborative
society.
Humans are hard-wired for collaboration, and new technologies of
communication act as a super-amplifier of our natural collaborative
mindset. This volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series
examines the emergence of a new kind of social collaboration enabled by
networked technologies. This new collaborative society might be
characterized as a series of services and startups that enable
peer-to-peer exchanges and interactions though technology. Some believe
that the economic aspects of the new collaboration have the potential to
make society more equitable; others see collaborative communities based
on sharing as a cover for social injustice and user exploitation.
The book covers the "sharing economy," and the hijacking of the term by
corporations; different models of peer production, and motivations to
participate; collaborative media production and consumption, the
definitions of "amateur" and "professional," and the power of memes;
hactivism and social movements, including Anonymous and anti-ACTA
protest; collaborative knowledge creation, including citizen science;
collaborative self-tracking; and internet-mediated social relations, as
seen in the use of Instagram, Snapchat, and Tinder. Finally, the book
considers the future of these collaborative tendencies and the
disruptions caused by fake news, bots, and other challenges.
