We are in a world where most American citizens over the age of 12 share things with each other online. — Clay Shirky Copy Share Image
When you make the claim that something on the Internet is going to be good for democracy, you often [hear], 'Are you… — Clay Shirky Copy Share Image
“The basic capabilities of tools like Flickr reverse the old order of group activity, transforming 'gather, then share' into 'share, then gather'.” — Clay Shirky Copy Share Image
The future presented by the internet is the mass amateurization of publishing and a switch from 'Why publish this?' to 'Why not? — Clay Shirky Copy Share Image
“Because Wikipedia is a process, not a product, it replaces guarantees offered by institutions with probabilities supported by process.” — Clay Shirky Copy Share Image
“Mass amateurization of publishing makes mass amateurization of filtering a forced move.” — Clay Shirky Copy Share Image
Prior to the internet, the last technology that had any real effect on the way people sat down and talked together was… — Clay Shirky Copy Share Image
The more ideas there are in circulation, the more ideas there are for any individual to disagree with. More media always means… — Clay Shirky Copy Share Image
The web's democratic in one way and distinctly undemocratic in another way. And I think a lot of the confusion about the… — Clay Shirky Copy Share Image
You used to have to own a radio tower or television tower or printing press. Now all you have to have is… — Clay Shirky Copy Share Image
I would not hesitate to say I was addicted to the Internet in the first two years. It can be addictive, and… — Clay Shirky Copy Share Image
It is possible to think that the Internet will be a net positive for society while admitting that there are significant downsides… — Clay Shirky Copy Share Image
It did not take long after the rise of the commercial printing press before someone figured out that erotic novels were a… — Clay Shirky Copy Share Image
“[F]rom now on, the act of creating and circulating evidence of wrongdoing to more than a few people, even if they all… — Clay Shirky Copy Share Image
The historic role of the consumer has been nothing more than a giant maw at the end of the mass media's long… — Clay Shirky Copy Share Image
“[B]ecause the minimum costs of being an organization in the first place are relatively high, certain activities may have some value but… — Clay Shirky Copy Share Image
The threat [of the U.S. bills SOPA and PIPA] is the inversion of the burden of proof, where we suddenly are all… — Clay Shirky Copy Share Image
The whole, 'Is the Internet a good thing or a bad thing'? We're done with that. It's just a thing. How to… — Clay Shirky Copy Share Image
To have a discussion about the plusses and minuses of various forms of group action, though, is going to require discussing the current tools… — Clay Shirky Copy Share
“Mass amateurization of publishing makes mass amateurization of filtering a forced move.” — Clay Shirky Copy Share
“Information sharing produces shared awareness among the participants, and collaborative production relies on shared creation, but collective action creates shared responsibility, by tying the… — Clay Shirky Copy Share
More interesting than thinking about what's possible in 10 years is thinking what's possible now but that no one has built. — Clay Shirky Copy Share
“Digital networks are increasing the fluidity of all media. The old choice between one-way public media (like books and movies) and two-way private media… — Clay Shirky Copy Share
Even with the sacred printing press, we got erotic novels 150 years before we got scientific journals. — Clay Shirky Copy Share
Tools get socially interesting after they're no longer technologically interesting. — Clay Shirky Copy Share
Carpooling is important for urban density, air pollution and other reasons, but carpooling is not the kind of thing that actually changes the energy… — Clay Shirky Copy Share
If what you're doing is valuable for people, they will find a way to pay you to keep doing it. — Clay Shirky Copy Share
Multi-taskers often think they are like gym rats, bulking up their ability to juggle tasks, when in fact they are like alcoholics, degrading their… — Clay Shirky Copy Share
Civic participants don't aim to make life better merely for members of the group. They want to improve even the lives of people who… — Clay Shirky Copy Share
I would not hesitate to say I was addicted to the Internet in the first two years. It can be addictive, and things not… — Clay Shirky Copy Share
Bureaucracies temporarily suspend the Second Law of Thermodynamics. In a bureaucracy, it's easier to make a process more complex than to make it simpler,… — Clay Shirky Copy Share
The more ideas there are in circulation, the more ideas there are for any individual to disagree with. More media always means more arguing. — Clay Shirky Copy Share
![“When you make the claim that something on the Internet is going to be good for democracy, you often [hear], 'Are you talking about the thing with the singing cats?'” quote by Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/7b5/clay-shirky-3364_be-good_when-you-make-the-claim-that-something-o_3124241.png)
![“[F]rom now on, the act of creating and circulating evidence of wrongdoing to more than a few people, even if they all work together, will be seen as a delayed but public act.” quote by Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/b8f/clay-shirky-3364_internet_f-rom-now-on-the-act-of-creating-and-cir_2973391.png)
![“[B]ecause the minimum costs of being an organization in the first place are relatively high, certain activities may have some value but not enough to make them worth pursuing in any organized way. New social tools are altering this equation by lowering the costs of coordinating group action.” quote by Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/a6d/clay-shirky-3364_first-place_b-ecause-the-minimum-costs-of-being-an-o_874307.png)
![“The threat [of the U.S. bills SOPA and PIPA] is the inversion of the burden of proof, where we suddenly are all treated like thieves at every moment we're given the freedom to create, to produce or to share.” quote by Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/572/clay-shirky-3364_bills_the-threat-of-the-u-s-bills-sopa-and-pip_439701.png)
