Book update

I initially found it very hard finding adequate books to help with my research. Primarily the problem was that I am researching such a rapidly developing subject that it is hard to get my hands on up to date literature that explores our current situation of social media. Clay shirky made a point on a blog he co-authors: 


 "One of the great frustrations of writing a book as opposed to blogging is seeing a new story that would have been a perfect illustration, or deepened an argument, and not being able to add it."


In a simillar way, I am struggling to find books that are up to date enough that can give me a real-time idea of where social media is.


I looked at Jurgens Habermas' "The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere" as a starting point. This work is a founding block of media studies and has continued to challenge and energize our perception of society. I found this book extremely hard as a first-step and so resorted to more accessible literature.


Manuel Castells' field of social study is wide ranging but focusses on the information society and communications research. I read Daren Barney's "The Network Society", which included arguments that support and criticise Castells' and Habermas' theories, as well as giving a more modern framework to consider them in. However, I still felt like a partial tourist in a strange landscape, as it wasn't the most accessible read.


It wasn't until I picked up "The Wealth of Networks" by Yochai Benkler that the frameworks that I was struggling with began to solidify into a logical picture. This book is a composite of theories, case studies and debates that all feed into a vision of where our information economy is. It gives detailed accounts of how our networked society is now capable of sharing and creating information like never before. Benkler brings to light a new framework of collaboration that is no-market based and non hierarchic. Through the readily available devices and softwares around us, we are capable of revolutionising the production and dissemination of information, knowledge and culture, which in turn, he believes will create a more equal and responsible society.

Read the book here

One thing in particular that has inspired me is the debate around intellectual property. This book made me question for the first time the idea of copy-right and why we have such a thing. Benkler has published his book under creative commons allowing anyone to read, download or edit the book. The only condition is that if any new editions are made, it also be released under creative commons.


I am still making my way through the book, but am becoming more inspired by every page that I have the tools, the network and the imagination to create a project that pursues a non-propriatary, non-industrial way of being an artist.