This week’s flip-lecture is based on the documentary Us Now (2009) which tells a story about online mass collaboration projects such as Mumsnet, CouchSurfing, Slice of Pie and My Football Club whose self-organising structures may “threaten to change the fabric of government”. The project is an examination of the role of the internet, and more specifically it focuses on Web 2.0 in facilitating direct public governance without the need for politicians. Basically it shows how people can form their own community with the help of social media.
People who share the same interest on a certain subject can connect themselves through online forums or websites. For instance, Mumsnet is a website where moms around the world can communicate to one another on childcare learn from other mothers as well.
CouchSurfing on the other hand is different from sites such as Mumsnet. Mumsnet doesn’t require the individuals to meet one another face-to-face as they can write their own article and publish them online. CouchSurfing is basically a site for people to request another person’s permission to stay at their place for a couple of nights.
In this documentary, we also witness on how such a football club can be expanded and run by thirty thousand committees. The overall message in this film is clear. It shows how people can self-organise into groups and as well as that has encouraged a blurring of the lines between customer and corporation, employer and employee.