Social media’s democratizing effect is still under interrogation, but I think we can all agree that real gains have been made in how individuals affiliate with other individuals and groups.

Case in point:  NYTimes.com features a story (http://tinyurl.com/3u2bsr) about www.hiphoprepublican.com, a blog written by a black Republican who lives in Manhattan. The article discusses the fact that black Republicans often find themselves in a Catch 22 when it comes to group forming. They are subject to ridicule from both the black community and the Republican community. While, in the past, such ridicule constituted a barrier to group forming great enough to discourage public assembly, the Internet and social media have enabled what Shirky would call a “latent group” to become realized.

If nothing else, the breadth of groups that form on the Internet lays bare the complexity and diversity within seemingly monolithic groups. That some blacks have economically conservative values might surprise some, but now that voice of the electorate has the medium and the milieu to articulate its message in the public sphere.

Two interesting tidbits:

(1) Multimillion dollar author Paulo Coelho wants his audience to do all the heavy lifting while he profits — asking them to collectively shoot a film for his book The Experimental Witch. As MCDM student Carie Burgess notes, “There’s some interesting stuff going on here with regard to out-sourcing to your audience and leveraging UGC, licensing and rights, creative control, film-making, etc.”

(2) Barack Hussein Obama “gets it,” and apparently Hillary Rodham Clinton doesn’t! Great article by UW journalism professor David Domke notes why one journalism class leans towards Obama. Students who get respect from the real world while shooting, blogging and reporting (hint hint to those playing nice with our Flippers) reap unexpected rewards!