Yochai Benkler correctly suggests that "peer production is as efficient and significant for the 21 century as the assembly line was for the 20th century." I also agree with Benkler when he suggests that through peer production "people can do more by and for themselves" but I add that the pleasures of online sociality are exploited. Communities are often deceived and commodified. They are unfairly used as a resource, often without their consent and knowledge. It's a bit like Mark Twain's "Whitewashing the Fence" in Tom Sawyer.
I am chastized by this post. Here I am a hopeless cheerleader for social networking tools and not considering how I am just a tool for the likes of YouTube, Facebook, and Flickr. Yes, they are useful, but they also use. They derive their ultimate value from using our cognitive surplus. And so goes the capitalist metaphor round and round wherever the invisible hand flicks it. Crack the whip and play and be the new social networking tool. How can I look my audience in the eye next week as I know how deeply I serve our insect overlords? (continue reading &aquo;)
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