Cognitive Surplus

Last year, I had the opportunity to see Clay Shirky live at the DigitalNow Conference in Florida. Shirky is the author of “Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations”, the recently released “Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age”, and a teacher of New Media at New York University. His insights into the new media were both scary and exciting for associations. We knew that things were changing.

A couple weeks ago, I was sent a video (from June of this year) about his idea of “Cognitive Surplus”, which is the shared, online work we do when we’re not doing our jobs. I was struck that there is a connection between the idea of cognitive surplus, and our ability to engage members and get them active in associations. I’m sure that there is an entire white paper that can be written on this, but given the beautiful summer weather outside and the fact that it is Friday, you’re only going to get some bullet points from me.

• There is a plethora of volunteer time available. In the United States, more than 100 million hours this weekend will be spent watching the ads between television programs.

• Technology has created endless options for people to get involved online. You know “that” guy in his basement being an on-line wizard or dungeon master – he’s contributing. How great would it be to get that sort of dedication to your organization?

• No matter what level the participation, be it posting funny pictures in a chat room or working with a group of physicists to create a proof – it is still participation.

There are one trillion hours per year of participatory value up for grabs, and we’re in the midst of an entire generation that, when given the opportunity, are willing to produce something online and share it. It’s up to us as associations to tap into that cognitive surplus.

Here is a link to the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qu7ZpWecIS8