Easier to start...

As the people of our world become increasingly connected, new portions of the world are exposed to the technological revolution.  As more and more people become aware and concerned, it is likely that they have a better chance of taking action.  As individuals start to take action, new ideas will start developing all over.  The places that have the most "connectivity" will develop stronger personal relationships, and in my opinion; have the potential to be more efficient.  Schmidt and Cohen state that every society in the future will experience different forms of protest, in which communication technologies are used to organize, mobilize, and engage the international community.   

Progress Is Compulsory

People are coming out with new technology even though they do not consider the negative effects nearly as much as the benefits.  Humans are cracking the inner codes of biology, but at the same time they are undermining our climate.  Critical resources are starting to run out and it can become detrimental to societal development.  When something contains "new technology", it is usually considered more popular and appealing to consumers.  With new technology, people are always looking for the ways that it can make they're lives better.  What they should consider is that with new technology, there is always greater risk involved with using it.  This is potentially the harmful part of the equation.    

Technology for Peace

In Chapter 8 of The New Digital Age, the future of conflict, combat and Intervention it discusses how much more aware people are becoming of matters today.  This can even be looked at in a positive way because as people see more of the tragedy that is occurring in the world, it seems like most of them are turning away from violence and war.  Information such as photos and videos are extremely powerful weapons that are being used to combat violence and attacks today.  Hopefully people will use technology in a way that will deter war and violence instead of using it to further research and get away with war.   

The structure of mass collaboration

Chapter 7 of The Social Organization is very influential as well as informative.  The chapter gives examples of a massive organization and how they utilize Peer Connect.  It is evident that there are pitfalls when going about structuring a social organization, but the benefits are definitely expected to outweigh the risks involved.  What I thought was interesting about this section of the chapter is the model on Page 205: Figure 7-1; Flow of launch activities.  This map explains the reasons why people want to take part in massive collaboration, so the organization can target those specific areas.  The main goal within this model is to rapidly drive participation to the tipping point.  This section really caught my eye and I think that the illustration can be helpful for people that are not sure of the true meaning and purpose of mass collaboration.  The model in Chapter 8 regarding how collaborative communities do their work is also helpful.  

Community collaboration is essential

Technology is becoming more and more advanced everyday, and the task is becoming how to develop a structured collaboration within these technological environments.  After a company network is up and running, the question is how do we get the clients actively engaged?  A good way to promote the network is to display incentives offered by using it.  There are many benefits associated with a structured community collaboration, and as I learned in Chapter 7 of The Social Organization, if all goes well, you will then have people collecting into a community and collaboration around a shared purpose.  Creating the right environment using the right technology is essential to integrate into existing systems.  Social media is the revolution of our society today, and if communities learn how to use technology more effectively, the community will grow tighter.