Pew Internet Director Lee Rainie gave a keynote address to USASBE‘s annual conference in Hilton Head, S.C. His speech to entrepreneur educators is entitled, “The Rise of Networked Individuals and their role in the life of entrepreneurs.”

He describes how American society has moved away from a social system anchored by small, tight-knit groups such as families, villages, and artisan employers to a new social operating system built around looser, less-structured social networks. Further, he discusses how the rapid adoption of the internet and mobile phones has pushed this social revolution forward. He describes the Pew Internet Project’s latest research about Americans’ use of technology and how it has given entrepreneurs new ways to act as economic agents in a new media ecosystem.