Reading January 31

The final chapters of Shirky focus on what it takes to create a successful online group. The three things you need, in order, are a promise, a tool, and a bargain. You make a promise that a group can get behind. The promise has to be something out of the ordinary, to get potential users attention. There is enough to do already, they need a good reason to get involved, even if it is just an implied promise and not an explicit one. That is, imply what is possible without stating it explicitly.

Then you give them the tools to work toward that promise. Tools are becoming more and more numerous. As Shirky says, the launch of Twitter happened during the writing of the book. New ways to connect with each other are being created all the time. "As tools get better, the size of what is plausible grows". When tools are new they are at a disadvantage however, because not a large amount of people are using them. Twitter has slowly grown into something mentioned on newscasts and sitcoms as a socially recognized part of culture, but when it first began only certain people were using it. As these new tools have more time to grow they become more and more useful.

Finally, a bargain is needed to bind the users together, a bargain that will help them all work together towards the promise. The bargain may be the most important factor, as the tools and promise are nothing without a bargain to regulate the community and determine what kind of culture the online community will be. "The bargain can't be instantiated as a set of contractural rules, because users don't read the fine print". The bargain needs to be straightforward and clear, because it has to appeal to a wide subset of people.

Shirky brings up some interesting examples of groups that used these three things. Most interesting is of course talking about Egypt, considering the recent events there. The internet is taken for granted here but in many places around the world it is still something closely monitored and controlled. It is so tightly regulated because in places where information is controlled, social media and the internet become a weapon.

The bargain that wikipedia made to stay non-commercial to appease the spanish users, moving from a .com to a .org was a very interesting example of a move made for the users rather than the company responsible for the website.

Reading Week 2

Design to thrive seeks first to define the differences between a social network and an online community. For instance, a social network has an organizational structure focused around an individual user's one on one relationships, while a online community has a organizational structure focused around a shared purpose, rather than the individual relationships of one user. While these are two very different kinds of communities, they are both worthwhile, both for users and those who would invest in them. Some reasons shared for building such communities include increasing creativity, reducing training and support costs, and reducing travel costs. It also lays out the ribs: four elements necessary for long-term success. They are renumeration, influence, belonging, and significance.

Here comes everyone starts off with the tale of a stolen phone, and how the internet contributed to its return. The story was posted online, gradually building up a following of people who recognized and sympathized with the injustice of lost items being kept from the rightful owners. Eventually, the collective buzzing was so loud that the NYPD changed the status of the phone from lost to stolen, arresting the girl who was in possession of the phone. The group was powerful enough to get a policy changed over a stolen phone, what else may be possible when they band together?

Shirky proposes that everyone belongs to multiple groups in their lives, making us all inherently good at group effort. Much how the other reading said that storytelling is such an ingrained part of our lives that it comes naturally and is the best way for us to understand things quickly. He introduces the clusters of connections, coordinating things with a group of four is six times as hard as with two people, because of the number of connections needed to make it happen. Essentially, Shirky is saying that while we are all capable of great things when we work together in groups, getting everyone to work together is not so easy. It's only when we are able to all share and make the connections necessary for cooperation that group work and the great things that can be accomplished by groups are possible.

Jan 18th Reading

Squirrel, Inc. begins with a female squirrel named Diana speaking to the bartender about the difficulty of getting her ideas heard by the bosses at Squirrel, Inc. Through their conversation the bartender gets her to see the power of storytelling as it relates to getting new ideas across. He argues that we are all intuitively able to tell stories, and that stories are something everyone can relate to, no matter their age. So he coaches her on how to best get her story across, giving her tips on how to improve and shape her story for maximum impact. Some of his suggestions include: identifying an incident where the change was successfully implemented, specify where and when this incident happened, extrapolating the idea if necessary, stripping it of unnecessary detail, giving it an authentically happy ending, and linking the story to the idea of change with phrases like "what if..". Now that Diana knows how to tell a story, she must learn the best way to implement it. She must relive the story to keep it fresh as it is told, focus on perfecting a few stories to be told over and over that will work with a broad variety of audiences, and constantly practice the story so that it comes off in a conversational manner that will be easier for the audience to enjoy. There are seven types of organizational storytelling. Stories to: ignite action, share knowledge, get people working together, neutralize bad news, communicate who you are, lead people into the future, and transmit values. Whyse uses the traditional narrative arc: a beginning middle and end with an inciting incident, crisis or climax, and denouement. Storytelling can also be used to build trust and reveal who you are. Finally, Hester tells a story to get individuals to work together. To do so: bring the group together physically, establish an open agenda, start with a moving story, create a process of sharing meaningful stories among the members of the group, and have an action plan ready.

Neuro Web Design is also concerned with the way stories and pictures can speak to a wide variety of audiences and the subconscious. A story conveys information but also allows us to feel what the characters feel. We process information as stories and turn stories into mental pictures. The internet and social media are also tools to communicate. There are 3 steps in Mass Interpersonal Persuasion: Discovery, Superficial involvement where you try out the service, and true commitment when you get active and loyal in a site. Made to Stick presents an urban legend that is instantly memorable along with another passage that decidedly isn't. This book is all about finding ways to make information stick, like the malnutrition of movie popcorn. There are six principles to "sticky" ideas: simplicity, unexpectedness, concreteness, credibility, emotions, and stories. Stories can become more personal, such as when they use an inspirational figure. The book highlights the case of Jared from the Subway commercials. He acts as an inspiration for people who want to lose weight.

There are examples of storytelling all over the internet. Facebook is probably the greatest example of storytelling bringing millions of people together. Every profile tells a story about its creator, every picture and every post illustrate something to someone. The stories on facebook link millions of users in a collective conversation. These same kinds of stories can be found on message boards where a different type of conversation is being had, but conversation nonetheless. The internet was created because of a frustration over the difficulty of communication, and now it is the ultimate tool to communicate in this new technological world.


The readings all made compelling arguments about the power and influence of storytelling. Squirrel Inc. broke storytelling down into a series of mechanical steps that I think may rob the inherent creativity of storytelling from a reader who follows it exactly. There are many ways to get a story across but not necessarily a fool proof formula that will fit all situations. Made to Stick had very interesting examples of how to get ideas to stick, such as filling a table with greasy food to finally get the point across to consumers about the popcorn they were happily gobbling up.