‘Cognitive Surplus’ and active media interactions

If you have 15 minutes to spare it’s worth watching Clay Shirky’s talk at Web2Expo last month (or read it here).

Shirky’s thesis is that web 2.0 works, and engages people in interactions, because it provides an outlet for the ‘cognitive surplus’ that is untapped by conventional media (‘we produce, you consume’). According to Shirkey people seek an outlet beyond passively consuming what media pipes to them. His thesis is that media should embrace production, consumption and sharing; and that people want to take part in all three. And that rather than dismissing blogging, Twittering, YouTubing etc. as just being a fad, what we’re seeing at the moment is just a beginning; something people will grow into rather than grow out of. (Given the context for this talk, of course Shirkey is upbeat!)

I don’t buy Shirky’s thesis in total. For a long time, traditional passive media (such as print media, TV and radio) have presented some compelling experiences, which have been shared within families, with friends and colleagues. Mass media events (such as the latest Apprentice series, currently playing out on British TV) still create a shared national experience (even if it’s one of incredulity). (To be fair, Shirky says he’s not forecasting the end of passive entertainment.)

But I agree that new media create opportunities for people to go beyond traditional consumption, to produce and share, and that these opportunities are taken up in a wide range of contexts, not necessarily nerdy or techie: consider the number of book groups and craft circles using web tools to produce, consume and share.

There is something in Shirky’s thesis for Blyk, and it links to Carlo’s post on the non-distinction between advertising and content. For some of Blyk members, the mobile phone is still simply a utility and Blyk’s messages are the price to pay for free calls and texts. For others, however, Blyk is another part of the media mix they experience and there is potential for ‘cognitive surplus’ to come into play as much here as with the web. When content engages members they respond to the opportunity to go beyond passive consumption, to share and (as response to the competitions Blyk has run suggests) to produce. Just as Shirky claims for Web 2.0, this is likely to be just the beginning. It is up to Blyk to draw on members’ cognitive surplus in the opportunities for interaction it presents.

2 comments May 12th, 2008