Wisdom of crowds by James Surowiecki

The title of this best seller book is now recurred as if it were a fixed noun.

I’ve observed two social phenomena regarding the utilization of web 2.0 technologies; one is social connection, the other is social collaboration. While social connections through such services as social networking sites may be more readily unerstood from pychological (e.g. lonlieness, the desire of connection) or philosophical (e.g. phenomenological extension of a self) perspectives and on interpersonal level (e.g. multiple dyadic or triadic relationships), social collaboration via web 2.0 seems to be discussed more interestingly through sociological understanding and on economic or political stance. 

What I’m interested in regarding the crowds’ collaboration and the wisdom produced out of the processes is its contribution to democracy and the expansion of civil society. Surowiecki’s book talks much of the cases from his own economic rationales; To me, thoses rationales are very alike to the pre-conditions of democray processes; Diversity and independence, which he proposed as neccessary propositions to establish collective wisdoms, are actually those neccessary to establish democratic public sphere, as well.

This book gives me a starting point of thoughts about the web 2.0 enabled crowdsourcing of democratic knowledge and citizens engagement in political processes.