When I initially started comparing “Here Comes Everybody,” by Clay Shirky, and “A Networked Self,” by Zizi Papacharissi, I found the task quite challenging. Though the primary reason for this difficulty was not the material contained in each, rather the style with which each was composed. The first book I tackled, was by far the easier of the two, “Here Comes Everybody” read much like a regular prose publication. Clay Shirky filled his book with intriguing anecdotes that underscored the concepts of each chapter. He first details how much influence social media can have when used effectively, and goes on to detail why it has the power it does. Eventually, showing the readers that the complex relationships, speed of communication, and ease of use allow large groups to organize effectively. This in turn allows, anybody with access to create and produce their own content with no need for the previously high cost barriers to entry. Social media’s removal of these barriers, allowed the public to voice their own ideas and create communities with like-minded individual.
When I began reading “A Networked Self,” it was an entirely different experience. The concepts were the same, yet delved into greater detail. Zizi Papacharissi, collaborated with over 30 different doctoral professors and academic professionals, to compile an in depth analysis of social networking sites on, social behavior, organizational practices, and civic engagement. While it was a little bit of a shock from one book to the next, after I began to read more, I realized it held much more information and did a much greater job at explaining social media’s influence on society at large. On top of the additional detail, it was also organized more efficiently.
Having finished reviewing the two books, I must say that I was amazed at how much the books correlated to one another. “A Networked Self,” if it did not directly support the ideas put forth in “Here Comes Everybody,” it expanded them in another direction. I have a feeling I will be reading through Papacharissi’s book a few more times, even though academic reads tend to be boring, the ideas are very interesting and I know I could find something new on a second or third read through.
