Business - Written Monday, June 7, 2010 by Denis Hancock - 0 Comments

Some quirky thoughts on ‘you are not a gadget’ and social production

I’m currently reading Jaron Lanier’s manifesto called “you are not a gadget”. While I find myself nodding along with some parts, and occasionally shaking my head at others, my most common reaction to each chapter is that I’ll need several months of quiet reflection to even form a coherent opinion (which, based on what I think I’ve read, is part of the point of his book). It is unquestionably the most thought provoking body of text that I have read this year – and I hope to respond to various parts of it, if and when thoughts hit me, over the coming months.

The part I’ve been thinking about most today is “The transition” section, within the “what will money be?” chapter (page 106). The general idea is to allow people to earn from their “bits” of contributions, such as photos, music, or articles. It’s posed in response to his (very valid) concerned that society is losing its way as the value of “bits” people contribute trends towards zero in the marketplace, and all the rewards (if any) go to the people that aggregate them. If this continues, there will be fewer and fewer bits to aggregate, of worse and worse quality, in a continuous downward spiral that could have disastrous long-term consequences. He explains the consequences, and proposes a few ideas on how to avoid them – but you can read about those in the book.

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