The title of this post is the subject of Clay Shirky’s keynote that he will deliver next Thursday at the Web 2.0 EXPO in New York City. Shirky is on the Advisory Board for this first time appearance of O’Reilly’s Web 2.0 EXPO in New York City — to which another Advisor said: “Well, it’s about <expletive deleted> time.” (Anil Dash, Blogger, Evangelist, and proud New Yorker). Dash’s comment is on the event site, which responds:
We agree. Web 2.0 Expo was launched to connect the builders of the web with the brightest minds, hottest ideas, and most valuable tools - and with each other. New York has long been where the world’s biggest industries go online, and as Web 2.0 grows up and gets serious, the time is right to convene the East Coast web communities under the umbrella of the next generation web. It’s time to come together to learn, share and network. And it’s time to celebrate the size, power, and innovation of the East Coast web industry.
A proud New Yorker myself, I will be blogging at the Web 2.0 EXPO, which will be held at Javitz Center from September 16-19. I will be looking for Web 2.0 ideas that can and/or could apply to education. Although “education” is seldom part of a product description in the EXPO’s advance materials, several of the participants I have been in touch with want to share their thoughts with me on how education could benefit from what they are doing — or already does. That is why I picked Clay Shirky’s title for this post. I think “filter failure” may be where we have not yet succeed in applying Web 2.0 to learning. More about that next week.
Comments
@ 09:59
In his book Here Comes Everybody, Clay Shirky wrote: “when we change the way we communicate, we change society.”
I’ve just written a profile about John Abele, retired founder of Boston Scientific and leader of the Grunion expedition - a global pursuit to find Abele’s father’s World War II submarine, lost at sea in the summer of 1942. Abele’s quest for the Grunion is about the power of social networking and, to use Shirky’s terminology, “organizing without organizations.” It’s about what happens when serendipity intersects with technology and human intent.
I think you’ll enjoy the story - it’s both inspiring and demonstrative of the power of collective capability. And from an education standpoint - it’s testament to the idea that old problems can be solved through new technology.
(I also suggest reading John Seely Brown’s Learning 2.0: The Big Picture. Great primer on applying web 2.0 to learning.)
@ 02:51
Wow, Chris — what an interesting story. It resonated with me since my Dad was a WWII Army surgeon (I am John McCain’s age) and I have many memories of the war. The story of Abele’s father would interest John McCain, I feel sure, since his own father was a submariner who had some harrowing times submerged off of Europe (as recounted in John McCain’s book about his “fathers”). Judy Breck
@ 06:34
Hi Judy - As a New Yorker, you’re just a quick train ride away from Providence. If you’re interested, John Abele (along with two dozen other amazing folks) will be sharing his story at our Collaborative Innovation Summit on October 15th and 16th.
Drop me a line and I can share more. I think the event might be right up your alley.
Best, Chris