To-dos for 2010: publish a book on user-generated government

The other thing I am going to do in 2010 is publish a book, my first. It will be probably called “Wikicracy”, and will deal with my experienc and thinking about user generated public policy. I started to write it in summer 2009, and I am bout to finish the first draft.

I don’t write just for people in my line of business, but for any intelligent individual who wonders why public policy seems unable to hold its ground as it confronts the problem of solving the problems of an ever more complex society. I claim that the problem may be seen as as a structural eyeballs deficit, and I suggest we try to solve it with the tools of mass collaboration, mediated by the Internet. This means managing a paradox: the networks of individuals linked by information exchanges are extremely powerful information processing entities, but by definition they cannot be controlled top-down. Yet the goals of public policy are set by the democratic process, and therefore exogenous to the networks themselves, at least in part. Is it possible to “persuade” these networks to move along a trajectory which is consistent with policy goals? I think it is. It’s difficult, but it can be done (in the book I also discuss the “how-to”)

Anyway it can’t be more difficult than writing the damned book. This is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.

4 thoughts on “To-dos for 2010: publish a book on user-generated government

  1. Michele

    Ciao Alberto, sono Michele di crossmode: complimenti per l’idea del libro e per tutto il movimento kublai.

    Prossimamente gestirĂ² un laboratorio per studenti di Scienze della Comunicazione dell’Univ di Bologna: uno degli obiettivi sarĂ  mappare tutti i citizen journalist di Bologna cradno una mappa generata dagli utenti.

    Mi piacerebbe, se possibile, invitarti a tenere una lezione o almeno condividere on line idee e proposte. Che ne dici?

    ciao

    Reply
  2. Alberto Post author

    @ Michele ti contatto a parte
    @ Lucio tieni conto che ho un editore che vorrebbe mantenere i tempi, e l’editing collaborativo ha un modo tutto suo di non finire mai! Direi piuttosto che DOPO la pubblicazione potrei mettere tutto quanto su un wiki, e vediamo come evolve.

    Reply
  3. andrea topo

    Ciao Alberto. Il libro: direi che era ora…facci sapere quando uscirĂ  – e prima o poi facciamo due chiacchiere sui fenomeni di autorganizzazione.
    A presto

    Andrea

    Reply

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