Clay Shirky: Institutions vs. collaboration

The video discusses coordination costs and how traditional institutions address them. It highlights the rise of cooperative systems, like Flickr's tagging, which reduce coordination costs by leveraging user contributions. The power-law distribution of contributions is explained, showing how a small number of users contribute most of the content. The video also explores the challenges institutions face with cooperative systems and provides examples like Meetup. It concludes with a discussion on the revolution in information sharing and the impact of mass amateurization.

In what ways can cooperative systems be seen as a revolution in human affairs?

What implications does the rise of web logging have for traditional journalism?

How do pro-ana groups utilize cooperative infrastructure to maintain their goals?

What are the potential downsides of mass amateurization as discussed in the text?