Saving the world with Facebook

“Internet guru” Clay Shirky on new media:

Look, we got erotic novels, first crack out of the box, once we had printing presses. It took a century and a half for the Royal Society to start publishing the first scientific journal in English. So even with the sacred printing press, the first things you get serve the basest human urges. But the presence of the erotic novels did not prevent us from pressing the printing presses into the service of the scientific revolution. And so I think every bit of time spent fretting about the fact that people have base desires which they will use this medium to satisfy is a waste of time – because that’s been true of every medium ever launched.

Let’s all stop focusing on the bad Facebook brings out in people (that is part of them whether we see it or not), and instead start focusing on the good we can do for people. With whatever medium presents itself. Yes, Facebook included.