Book Review: An Army of Davids

Prof. Glenn Reynolds (that's Instapundit to you) brews his own beer, has his own record label, and writes one of the most successful blogs on the planet. All of this is possible because of the massive increase of productivity in the last few years, placed in the hands of everyday people all over the world.

The great story, the great trend of the 21st century, is going to be the 18th and 19th centuries - the movement of society from decentralized to centralized, and back to decentralized. It's a political trend that Michael Barone has been writing about for over a decade. Its most obvious manifestation has been blogging.

Reynolds's contribution is to show how the widespread distribution of advanced technology has profound economic and social consequences, far beyond the minute-to-minute politics that dominates the discussion. It's not merely that the big institutions are falling apart - it's that the big centralized institutions are being replaced, or at least finding competition in, huge decentralized institutions with greater power and flexibility. The really spooky part is that you ain't seen nuthin' yet.

An Army of Davids is divided into two sections - one on trends that are already underway, and another on technology that's just over the horizon.

Yes, Reynolds writes about blogging (including some tips on successful blogging). And he also discusses the irony that the only successful same-day response to 9/11 came from passengers with cellphones. That everyday citizens were able to react more swiftly and devastatingly than several large bureaucracies set up for the purpose has been noted before. Reynolds gives tips on how to make it work next time, too.

Still, I found the most interesting chapters to be on garage bands and Third Places.

The record labels have - as usual - missed the point. Napster was a diversion. The real threat was that music lovers would form their own community, and that bands would be able to bypass the big labels to get exposure. Likewise, the presence of safe, well-lit, friendly places with WiFi is changing the way we work, but also has uncertain implications for public speech.

At some level, the Goliaths are more like dinosaurs, but expect some to adapt rather than fight. The Washington Post appears to be trying to do both, using Technorati to turn the blogosphere into its comment section, while at the same time libeling Bill Roggio, who's shown considerably more pluck than their own reporters. If the large record labels are the only ones able to guarantee airplay and fill colosseums right now, there's no reason that capability, too, can't be rebuilt from the ground up as well.

Article Author: Joshua Sharf

Joshua Sharf blogs here primarily as a book reviewer. He has his own site at jsharf.com, and is a founding member of the Rocky Mountain Alliance of Blogs. He is also a contributing editor at Newsbusters. Joshua blogs from Denver, CO.

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