In this prescient 2005 talk, Clay Shirky shows how closed groups and companies will give way to looser networks where small contributors have big roles and fluid cooperation replaces rigid planning.
To reach a certain goal, it used to be the case to create an institute which would find the right people and make sure the goal is met. An interesting development, with most of its examples online, is what Clay Shirky calls cooperatives. These are groups of people who reach a goal through cooperation.
The way institutions react to this is very interesting; they seem to forget this cooperation is reaching the goal they set out to meet originally, and object to this new movement. Interesting is that the cooperation is more efficient in reaching this goal. Examples in transportation (carpooling arranged online) or journalism, where online journalism reaches the original goal; informing the people, illustrate the great friction and change that is happening.
According to Clay Shirky this is a revolution which, like any revolution, will not bring us from point A to point B, but it will create chaos.
This principle though is a very strong one; designing the right infrastructure is a strong way of reaching a goal when contributors are the ones taking the initiative.
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