21A - Reading Reflection No. 2

21A - Reading Reflection No. 2

1) The general theme of Cognitive Surplus by Clay Shirky was that there's a certain way people utilize new technology when it comes their way. Also, Shirky covers how the population was treated by the media before and after the social media revolution. Finally, he covers how when money is an incentive it often doesn't lead to a good place.

2) The book was very helpful at analyzing behaviors. This book uses a lot of motivation theory from the field of Psychology, where people's thoughts and actions play a role in figuring out the behavior or people. As such, the book sort of quantified people down to organisms when trying to understand them. This can help with trying to understand the customer and buyer behaviors, a key topic in ENT3003. 

3) The exercise from this book would be mimicking Edward Deci's motivation experiment. Where he had two groups solving a puzzle, one paid and one unpaid, and studied their motivation to complete the puzzle during a "break session." You could attempt this experiment, but when hiring employees to see who would have a good work ethic or be motivated. 

4)My biggest surprise moment was when reading about the Deci experiment, and how money played a role, it truly didn't help out much. Furthermore, Shirky brought up data where the Norwegian government was looking to see public approval for a plant near a town, when offering money, the approval rating dropped. These scenarios show that sometimes, money isn't the endgame. In a society where materials and surplus seem desirable, it often won't lead anywhere truly incredible.