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- Report
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Demand and supply: how communities reshape the market
- 18/10/2012
When individuals collectively mobilise, they operate as networks and have greater powers
Wayne Large, Creative Commons (2003) ©Scope
Technology lets communities form easily and quickly and as a result is unleashing an empowered public on markets, the media and more. From group buying to 'buycotting', people are putting their heads together and voting with their wallets.
Take the story of Robocop in Detroit. Detroit is America’s most dangerous city. A growing murder rate, widespread unemployment, poverty and emerging news of corruption in the police force have contributed to a quarter of the city’s residents leaving since 2000, with a further 40% aiming to leave within five years. [1] Detroit needs help – but who or what will help it?
When an idea to erect a statue of fictional cyber-hero Robocop sparked on Twitter, the internet lit up with excitement. Notwithstanding a veto from Detroit’s mayor, local non-profit Imagination Station, who saw hope in the idea, launched a Kickstarter page giving supporters somewhere to pour out both their support and dollars to make it happen.
A year later and the statue is in the final stages of production: the parts are being ordered and the community is confident that – with or without the support of mayor Bing – Robocop will have a place to stand in Detroit.
Underlying the story of Robocop’s arrival in the Detroit is a story about how social technologies enable communities to form more easily than ever before. When individuals locate others who share the same goals or principles and collectively mobilise, they no longer operate alone, but as networks, with greater powers to challenge convention. -
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