Reading Reflection No. 2/ 21A

Cognitive Surplus: How Technology Makes Consumers into Collaborators

By: Clay Shirky

1)     What was the general theme or argument of the book?

The general topic of the book was about how social media effects society. More specifically he writes about cognitive surplus which describes the free time that people have to use different media platforms.

2)     How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?

I really enjoyed this book because it really spoke a lot about what I’ve Iearned in my other technology class I am taking. I knew most of the terms and it was very closely related to topics we’ve discussed about social media. For ENT I think this book was good with relating to the entrepreneur because it discusses how businesses can take advantage of this social media age and explains that companies can use “cognitive surplus” to their advantage to engage with their customers or market.

3)      If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?

I think a benchmarking assignment or social media research assignment would be a good pair for this book. Trending hashtags and online social media jokes are all things that businesses should keep up on.

4)      What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

The biggest surprise when reading this book was learning how people like to use platforms where inexperienced people are able to share their opinions. This shocked me because unknowledgeable people talking about things they don’t know anything about is one of my biggest pet peeves. I think this is why so much false information or “fake news” is spread on the internet and it changes the way people perceive the world. Facts are the best thing to spread on the internet, not opinions. In my opinion.