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This essay explores the various theoretical positions that help to explain why people participate in social media systems or web 2.0 sites. It will become the first section of what will be two or three parts of my dissertation proposal. As it morphs into my full dissertation I expect it to extend further in breadth — to include more authors and points of view, as well as depth in depth — providing richer analysis and bringing more background texts to bear.

The following works form the initial core of the project. There are some intentional omissions (like Cass Sunstein and related work that doesn't quite fit in right now) and innumerable authors that I know nothing about or too little about (like Castells). Please help me out by suggesting additional readings — both primary tech related and secondary readings that will help my understanding. Just add them to this list, or [add it] in a comment below. I'm actively looking for a coherent analysis of how consumerism and web 2.0 intersect and am particularly grateful for help in that direction.

Authors/Books/Articles:

• Benkler, Yochai
  • Coase's Penguin
  • Wealth of Networks
• Himanen, Pekka
  • The Hacker Ethic, and the Spirit of the Information Age, including the Prologue by Linus Torvalds
• Lessig, Lawrence
  • Free Culture
  • Code 2.0
• O'Reilly, Tim
  • What is Web 2.0?
• Stallman, Richard and the Free Software Foundation
  • Philosophy of the GNU Project
• Raymond, Eric
  • The Cathedral and the Bazaar
  • The Unix Koans of Master Foo
  • How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
  • On Socially Responsible Programming

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