The Shift from Editor to Community: Reflections on Weinberger’s ‘Everything is Miscellaneous’

David Weinberger’s Everything is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder (2008) explores how the digital age transforms the way we organize, share, and consume knowledge. Early in the book, Weinberger highlights the role of editors, the “social royalty” of a highly hierarchical knowledge system. Editors decide what to include and how to structure it, effectively shaping the narrative and our understanding of the world. But what happens when the editorial throne is passed to the collective readers?

Weinberger suggests this shift fundamentally alters the social order, clustering users into social groups and fostering communities. Over time, these communities begin to rely on collective social knowledge rather than the expertise of an individual editor in a “well-lit room.” The result is a new dynamic where knowledge emerges from the group rather than being dictated from the top.

Weinberger introduces the idea of a “third order of knowledge,” a fundamental departure from the 2,500-year-old hierarchical system. Unlike the traditional “second-order” knowledge, which is rigid, top-heavy, and compiled by a select few, the third order is decentralized, flexible, and organic. It exists between us rather than solely in our individual minds. This public, shared knowledge, emerging from global social groups, represents a revolutionary phenomenon in the digital age.

Social knowledge, as Weinberger argues, is a self-evolving, organic system. It thrives on collaboration, interaction, and adaptability. In contrast, traditional encyclopedic systems are static and limited by their rigid, curated structure. The flexibility of social knowledge allows it to grow and improve continuously, making it better suited to the needs of a dynamic, interconnected world.

Suggested Sources:

1. Weinberger, D. (2008). Everything is miscellaneous: The power of the new digital disorder. Henry Holt and Company.
2. Benkler, Y. (2006). The wealth of networks: How social production transforms markets and freedom. Yale University Press.
3. Shirky, C. (2008). Here comes everybody: The power of organizing without organizations. Penguin Press.
4. Surowiecki, J. (2004). The wisdom of crowds. Doubleday.
5. Sunstein, C. R. (2006). Infotopia: How many minds produce knowledge. Oxford University Press.