Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations

Imbalance drives large social systems rather than damaging them. Only 2% of users ever contribute, yet that is enough to create profound value for millions of users.

The number of people who are willing to start something is MUCH smaller than the number of people willing to contribute once someone else starts something.

* - cooperation

From now on, news can break into public consciousness without the traditional press weighing in. The news media can end up covering the story *because* something has broken into public consciousness via other means.

Most professions exist because there is a scarce resource that requires ongoing management : librarians are responsible for organizing books on the shelves, newspaper execs are responsible for deciding what goes on the front page. The scarcity of the resource itself creates the need for a professional class.

Anyone who predicts the death of cities has already met their spouse.

Fame is simply an inbalance between inbound and outbound attention, more arrows pointing in than out.

The music industry is still reeling from the discovery that the reproduction and distribution of music, previously a valuable service, is now something their customers can do for themselves.

Sharing creates the fewest demands on the participants. Many sharing platforms like Flikr operate in a take-it-or-leave-it fashion, allowing for the maximum freedom of the individual to participate while creating the fewest complications of group life.