Book. David Bollier. Viral Spiral: How the Commoners Built a Digital Republic of Their Own. New Press, 2009.

I have not read this book yet, but I’m an avid follower of David’s On the Commons blog, which never fails to inform and delight. Familiarity with his other books and reports, and the congruence with our topics at the P2P Foundation, makes this a book we will return to, most likely as Book of the Week.

In the meantime, just the blurb. Don’t wait for us and do purchase this book!

From the publisher’s announcement:

“If you look closely, you can see the new “sharing economy” emerging. Ordinary people are using digital technologies to invent diverse sorts of commons, a new paradigm for generating individual and community wealth. This bottom-up revolution can be seen in free and open source software, Creative Commons licenses, Wikipedia, remix music, amateur videos and fascinating innovations in open science, open education and “open business.” Reporting from the heart of this “free culture” movement, journalist and activist David Bollier provides the first comprehensive history of the commoners’ struggle to invent a new digital republic — a realm that honors freedom, participation, social equity and innovation.”

Here’s a video presentation of the main ideas of the book:

More Information:

For more info — and downloads of a Creative Commons-licensed version — you may go to www.viralspiral.cc.