It’s faster….but its not new

27. April 2009 by justdanika.

Different technologies dot history and craft the behaviors of groups. In the past it was automobiles that allowed people to move farther from their neighbors and their place of employment. This behavior change, not the car, have changed how people live their lives now and the future of how people interact. In the future you can’t say solar power is going to save the earth from global warning because it is not about a technology. As long as people are reckless with their energy use a technology will never actually help.

Shirky states this on the cover of his book. “Revolution doesn’t happen when society adopts new technology, it happens when society adopts new behaviors.” This statement is driving engineers, designers, politics and other influential groups to think about how to change how people behave. A technological solution is simply a pill fix for the culture that is unsustainable.

Sustainability lies within people changing how they behave and though technology can help that or encourage it, it can not be the sole effort. Understanding groups and how they have changed is important for understanding how to create infectious action. Shirky discusses lowering transaction costs and then getting the promise-tool-bargain ratio correct to effectively form a group.

Here lies Shirky’s disconnect. There is no behavior change in this, it is just different. People have been forming groups since the beginning of time for every rhyme and reason under the sun. As he puts it, “faster is different.” Yes it is different, but it isn’t a change in behavior. All of these social tools that have been created across the world have given people new tools to achieve goals that they have always had but just have not been able to achieve due to lack of communication. I don’t see how helping people to achieve their existing goals is changing behavior.

I believe Shirky’s book title would have been accurate by saying something such as

“You can’t change behavior with just technology, but you can utilize the ease of group formation to encourage that behavior change.”

or

“Empowering groups is a 21st century phenomenon. By lowering the transaction cost of action, behavior change is no longer reliant on technology as a driving factor.”

Shirky never addresses behavior change, he just addresses the possibilities that the change in how people are organizing can lead to greater, faster impact. Not that I disagree with the statement of the cover, it is just not what Shirky’s book is about.

Posted in Design | No Comments »