Clay Shirky has given us a surprising number of Internet myths. And by this I mean not falsehoods but the opposite: Broad, illuminating ways of making sense of what’s going on. For example, Clay’s post about the power law distribution of links in the blogosphere (based on research by Cameron Marlow) changed how we view authority, fame, and success in the Web ecosystem, and provided the structure within which Chris Anderson could point to the Long Tail. And Clay’s Ontology Is Overrated made clear that a change in how we categorize our world affects very real power relationships; that essay was highly influential, including on my own Everything Is Miscellaneous.
Clay’s new post — The Collapse of Complex Business Models — gives us a broad way of understanding why those who used to provide us with content will not be the ones who give us content in the future…and why they cannot fathom why not.
business, media –> Tagged with: everythingIsMiscellaneous • everything_is_miscellaneous • media • shirky–>
I found Clay Shirky’s post via Joho the Blog, so I want to credit the source. But be sure to click through on the link “The Collapse of Complex Business Models” and read it three times.
How many of you work for large companies or institutions who are trying to ‘simplify the business’ or design simple products? How many of you have been trying for at least 15 years? I have, and it doesn’t seem to work. I think Clay is on to something.
