Shirky - Godin; A review.

After viewing both video clips discussing technological and social media/information phenomena, I can say that I agree with both viewpoints of the speakers, Clay Shirky and Seth Godin.

Shirky's main motif of his speech revolved around the concept of the new "global, social, ubiquitous, and cheap" method of media transference and understanding as well as the shift from limited and repressed distributions of information to a more expedited and free dispersion of factual reality. Shirky's example of the Chinese media being beaten to the punch by Chinese citizens in regards to the Earthquake and the lack of proper safety protocol in school buildings was truly eye opening for me. The extreme quantities and delivery speeds of unrestricted, unregulated news via the public forced the hand of a system traditionally prone to regulation and restriction of any information deemed unfit for global scrutinizing. If censorship and control cannot be achieved, the only alternative is to cut off the source of the informational wildfire. Shirky's approach to delivering this information was to present his ideas in a more organized and semi-shock based style. He maintains audience connection through new truths and shifting ideas throughout many societies rather than a few.

Godin's speech was much more pop culture based and had a general air of traditional or historically revitalized presence. He uses humor to maintain a connection to his audience and many more eye-catching visual aides to re-establish the attention of those viewing - all while making a strong argument for his main point - the formation of "tribes" through technology and media. He argues that there is a trend shift from reclusive and independent thoughts among few to more universal and shared thoughts among many. People have a need to find others who share similar interests and technology as well as the Internet have provided a means for sharing ideas and finding one another.

Both speakers shared similar ideas in explaining how technology and media (especially through Internet-based tools) can be key catalysts in bringing about social and political change. Both men also focus on the idea that there is a seemingly inevitable shift of power from the traditional 'higher-ups' in society to the general public. In large enough numbers of a technologically oriented populous (Shirky) or groups of those who share similar ideas in "tribes" (Godin), there is great potential for change. Incidentally, both speakers were short on hair but great on knowledge and thinking outside of the box.

Some ideas that both speakers differed on involved the want for a social change in different groups of people and the want to lead and develop interest groups or tribes. Shirky focused more upon a general concept of a new wave of less controllable powers of an "e-independence" among many who wish to distribute information on an efficiently rapid scale whereas Godin expressed a supreme interest of those with similar viewpoints to create, lead, and effectively bring about social change in many different forms simply by having a group of people band together in whatever size or event.