Our essays in response to Clay Shirky's Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age (2010)
Clay Shirky argues that we are at a unique moment in time. That is, with the worldwide burgeoning of affordable, easy-to-use internet applications, people in industrial and post-industrial societies are able to shift from being media consumers alone to being media producers as well. As a result, we are able to engage in generous networked activity that has the potential to change the world. In spring 2012, less than two years after this book has been published, we have seen many ways in which world political structures have, in fact, changed due in part to unprecedented numbers of people who have digital connections. In these essays, we comment on some of the book's more notable points, as well as on generous acts, networked or otherwise, that we have witnessed or in which we have participated.
Fall 2012 essays
"A Generous Woman Builds a Gym" by Jazmin Pratt
Parenting in the Age of Technology by Barb Pardee
Thumb Era By Xuewei Wu
Something About My Dancing Lessons by Jin Ma
Reflections on New Media by Christine A
Blogging As an Act of Generosity to Report the Unreported By Raber Aziz
Cognitive Surplus and Acts of Generosity by Diane Noe
"Act of Generosity" by Karwan Khmo
Milkshake mistakes in microblog by Haoxiang Wang
Reflection on Cognitive Surplus by Weiwei Yao
Cognitive Surplus Sharing and Generosity by Liuge Shang
Impacts of technology on everyday life by Krista Martin
Spring 2012 essays
Down the Rabbit Hole: The Community of 4chan by Ethan Grant
An introduction to the seedy core of online culture.
TOMS by Eric Hilmer
On the TOMS shoes movement and the quickening spread of trends due to the internet.
The Art of Blogging by Alex Moulchin
on blogging and publishing yourself
Music and the Internet: Sharing a Universal Language by Rebecca Werner
on music composition and music sharing
A Surplus to Health by Nathan Albert
on LoseIt!, weight loss and social media.
Generosity as an Art Form by Ashlee Stanley
The generosity of strangers on a site called deviantART.
Gamers Unite by Mike Siano
on the culture of gamers and their impact on others and each other
The Project for Awesome by Kirsten Pohlplatz
on community generosity on the internet, and generally being awesome
Writing Again Thanks To Cognitive Surplus by Alicia Smock
Feeding Those Without Surplus by Abby Christiansen
Why Giving Blood is a Good Thing by Mallorie Kaskubar
An Intrinsic Motivation, An Inspirational Soul by Michelle Stiegart
How one remarkable soul's life cut short inspired actions in those who knew and loved her.
Medical Treatment through PatientsLikeMe by Rebecca Szabo
Cognitive Surplus: Changing History Through Boredom by Angela Nickels
Fanfiction: Uniting and Fostering Writers by Victoria Hole
on Harry Potter fanfiction, fanfiction communities, and writing in a digital age
Cognitive Surplus and School Lunch: A Blog for Change by Stephanie Coleman
on School Lunch Programs, Nutrition, Public Schools, Blog, Food
Generosity: from the Internet to the Post Office by Rachel Shinville
on Moreloveletters.com and old and new media existing side by side
Recall Scott Walker By Aubree Zdanovec
How public workers of Wisconsin united to protest in order to save their rights.
The English Theatre Business Project and Marketing Shakespeare by Jacquielynn Wolff
marketing, theatre, Intercultural-Competence
Competitive Internets By Eric Mozynski
How the internet is changing generosity
Fall 2011 essays
Reflection on cognitive surplus by Qi Huang
on RenRen (the Chinese Facebook), Sina Microblog, and more
Cognitive Surplus—From Receiving to Creating by Huiqing Wu
on iphones and participatory culture
The Internet as a Support System (4).docx by Jessica Baldwin
On motherhood, daughterhood, and networked culture in responding to a rare medical condition
Unity Through Technology by Kimberly Bari
On social media and epilepsy
Americorps and Cognitive Surplus by Christine Wagenblast
generosity in the domestic Peace Corps
Television to Internet: How We Connect by Adam McFatridge
on TV, social media, and community
Blogs and a Breakdown - Generosity in Action by Allyson Vis
on the scarcity of surplus and a surprising act of (non-digital) generosity
“Cognitive Surplus” around Me by Jiajuan Guo
on work, surplus, and news and generosity on Sina microblog
Cognitive Surplus and the Value of Connection by Chris Sapone
on social media, coaching writing, and supporting the recovery community
Microblog by Jia Yang
Sina microblog and generosity following Japan's 5.2 earthquake
Cognitive Surplus – Giving to Those That Cannot Help Themselves by Laurie Hurson
generosity and animal adoption
Shirky On Social Media and Motivation by James Iddins
social and philosophical reflections on why we act generously
Facebook by Nicole Schimizzi
social media, grief, and remembering after the tragedy at the 2011 Indiana State Fair
Rewrite of 1st essay.docx by Lark Carlson Brown
an orchestra director leads musicians of diverse talents and abilities
Fall 2010 essays
Generosity, The University, and Today's Networked Environments by Elizabeth Burow-Flak
On being generous in academia and as a parent
Redefining "Academic" by Lindsay Carlson
Internet Use for Medical Research by Lisa D.
The Convenience Brought by Technology by Ludan Sun
Generosity and the Blogger by Erin K.
Cognitive surplus essay by Xia Chen
Interactive Media: Closing the Gap between Generations by Lindsay Sperling
Generosity: Motives Matter by Stacey Cassady
Essay about Cognitive Surplus by Weina Ding
Cognitive Surplus by Lora Mendenhall
Cognitive Surplus - What is reality anyway by Erica Sponberg
Public and Civic Sharing by Deborah McHugh
Cognitive Surplus by Ting Xu
accessibility and permance touch home by Dan B.
Something after Reading Cognitive Surplus by Can Yang
My experience for TV ‘surrogacy hypothesis’ by Haiqi Li
Acts of Generosity by Phyllis Penninga
Don't be too Generous to Media by Ling Li
The Weight of Constructive Potentiality in the Digital Age by Christopher Palko
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