Clay Shirky has written widely on the capacity for humans to engage in collaberative efforts. In his most recent book, he persuasively argues that as we are allowed new ways to interact and connect, we will do so. Think of effort involved in producing Wikipedia and open source software, and yet, it is done for free.
In this talk, Greg Tracy talks about this tendency to be a part of something bigger. He calls it civic entrepreneurship, using your own talents to help with civic problems. Though, his particular brand of geek volunteerism needs no official title; it solves problems. As one commentor notes, "Its hacking your way to a better community. Its bold and its humble."
It is the kind of entrepreneurship that we at CivicSource can get behind.
