At this week’s Association of Online Publishers conference in London, celebrated US interactive thinker Clay Shirky, who teaches new media at New York University and has written Here Comes Everybody, had words of wisdom for any media execs hoping to launch collaborative spaces…

Shirky told “old-line” publishers at the Association of Online Publishers conference in London on Wednesday they should create conversation and sharing environments, rather than give readers specific calls to action, saying of youngsters who create their own online content: “They’re not ‘publishing’ - they’re having a conversation - and while they’re having this conversation, they’re not talking to you.” Bottom line: If we move from media that don’t only encourage consumption to media that can also reward production and sharing, then we can find new audiences.”