London, Ontario, Canada

Attending the University of Western Ontario (UWO) master’s in journalism program.

A Little Trip to Japan, Jeju, South Korea

Posted on | December 26, 2008 |

I’m off on vacation to Japan and will be back after the New Year. Before I head off there is a link to pass on that has resonated with me. It comes from Om Malik of GigOM. He argues that the economic downturn now affecting tech will actually benefit it in 2009. Those out of work (with what Clay Shirky calls a ‘cognitive surplus‘) will have time to get on with some serious innovation:

I wonder what kind of creativity could be unleashed by workers who, though deprived of a steady paycheck, are freed from such tedious tasks. Some could come up with new ideas that help vault the web to a more advanced stage. Others may make micro-contributions that are equally powerful in aggregate. Such creativity could then foster an entirely new generation of startups, which would eventually lure away some of those who had remained at steady jobs all along.

It’s hard not to disagree.

And for more information on Shirky’s cognitive surplus, check out the video below from Web 2.0 Expo earlier this year:

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Comments

One Response to “A Little Trip to Japan, Jeju, South Korea”

  1. M
    January 1st, 2009 @ 7:55 pm

    Or, judging from the computer geeks I know in Seattle, they will just sit around playing World of Warcraft and collecting unemployment. lol

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  • Jim Saunders is British and lived on Jeju Island, South Korea. He was editor-in-chief for Jeju Life magazine, an English language guide to living and life on Korea's largest island. He now lives in London, Ontario, Canada and is attending the University of Western Ontario's MA in Journalism program.

    • jsaund23 (at) uwo.ca
    jimshady2k1 (at) gmail.com

    JL on KBS Jeju | 31.11.08 | KBS



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