This made some good observations, and is important because it frames the new online collectivism in an intellectual, non-alarmist way. But I can't stress enough how much I disagree with Kelly's "New Socialism" moniker -- not because of the word's cultural stigma but because it's simply not accurate. In socialism, all spheres of free activity and property are incorporated into the state, and by virtue of being everywhere the state becomes invisible. This isn't the case in digital communal culture. A workforce of free agents in a decentralized barter economy is far from the socialist model; a "spectrum of attitudes, techniques, and tools that promote collaboration, sharing, aggregation, coordination, ad hocracy, and a host of ... More »

Excellent article by former Wired editor and thought leader Kevin Kelly on how network technology is bringing about a new form of 'digital socialism.' This article provides a great overview of collaborative social technology, analyzes how these new tools are already reshaping our minds and culture, and introduces some new ideas about how all this might change our entire society and political frameworks. A must-read for anyone interested in this fascinating topic.

The first half of the article is very informative on the different kinds of collaborations that take place over the Internet. It explains Shirky's hierarchy for classifying these interactions well and provides many good examples and links. The author's proposed view on the new socialism is well introduced. The second half of the article - starting at "Most people in the West" - is not as informative, factual and structured anymore, and becomes more of a diatribe on how the new Internet socialism might be changing the world - the author's point.

This is more poetry than journalism. The argument is just an extended metaphor. Social Networking doesn't need this intellectual baggage.

Lots of facts & figures: I love just how well-organized this story is; how it's broken down, the charts, etc.

This article is a really thought producing look at how use of quick mass communication may be transforming society and our ways of thinking about social (and economic??) organization. It's represents the upside. I think the society in Fahrenheit 451 (if I remember the number correctly) is the possible downside.