Facebook and Twitter have brought down tyrannical governments.
They have also ruined lives.
We are learning to harness the power of renewable energy – the wind, the sea, the sun.
Yet we are still hostage to the terrible and often destructive forces of nature.
We believe in the potential for technology to make the world a better place for all.
But it’s a two-edged sword, and those who would destroy it believe in the same technology.
And we link the demise of Osama bin Laden to lofty values and virtues.
While former Governors and current Ministers flaunt their shaming lack of ethics and morals.
The human dichotomy, I guess…the old Giveth and Taketh that we know so well from the Western religious tradition.
Seems to me that we are at a crossroad – once again – that is familiar to humankind.
The intersection of what is and what can be. The place where we look to the future through the eyes of the present with the thoughts of the past – and debate with ourselves if in fact we can actually change the status quo.
I don’t mean can we use Facebook better or find a new way to monetize 4Squared or decide which screen is really the most important or which tablet will win out.
I mean – can we actually end the inequality; can we really do without oil and coal; can we finally feed the multitudes; can we stop killing each other?
Now – lest you think I am a total flake – I too am consumed with how to use Facebook better and I’m nuts to find ways to monetize new applications; I give speeches all about my view of screen focus and I’m a bleeding-edge beta user of every new toy I can get my hands on.
But here is the thing – I see it as all connected.
The way I see it – that crossroad has a huge wall in front of one of the choices. Huge. A wall of possibilities so big and tall that the open road, the easy-choice road seems more enticing – after all, you still crave that great 3D screen, a new handset and who knows what kind of tablet – not to mention you’re fully linked, to a myriad of social apps, including Facebook.
Listen:
“We are confronted with insurmountable opportunities.” – Walt Kelly
I love this thought. Insurmountable opportunities….
Not obstacles, not barriers, not barricades – just a wall of opportunities so big and tall that just climbing it – or maybe looking for its door – would open up vistas we can’t even dream of.
So do we dismiss the truly great opportunities as being insurmountable?
Or do we climb…?
Who knows…
And we can still take that killer tablet with the killer apps on the journey – no one said we can’t have fun on the way…!!!!
What do you say?
I think that to change the status quo we need to be curious and ask a lot of questions. Living in a DIY era may delude us into thinking that all of the information is out there and the questions have been asked. We spend time searching and perhaps forget that the best ideas and opportunities are still ahead us. The idea of processing should be just as prioritized as consuming. A recent WIRED article quoting co-founder of Quora says it best — “90% of the information people have is still in their heads and not on the web”.
Check out the article here: http://bit.ly/j3P5Tm
An interesting Huffington Post article from yesterday suggests that the time we spend “digitally” keeps us daydreaming about the lives of others rather than focusing on contributing to our world in a meaningful way. We are distracted by chatter rather than inspired by connection….and focusing on the “lives we’ll never lead” as opposed to processing the potential to which we can aspire!
Here’s an excerpt from the article:
Clay Shirky claims that in this digital age, people prefer to use their free time or “cognitive surplus” to produce and share media and information rather than simply consume it…societies can foster such behavior if they culturally reward people whenever they devote their time and talents to something that is not just self-amusement but a contribution to public good and civic values.
However, it seems to me that our digital fascination with “lives we’ll never lead” — such as the almost Pixar-animated wedding we witnessed last month — is, in fact, the paradigm of what is culturally rewarded: fame, obsession with looks, fashion trivia and “Somebodies vs. Nobodies” seem to be on the minds of the majority.
Shirky’s argument regarding our spare time and “cognitive surplus” could only thrive in such “dignitarian society,” where service is culturally-rewarded. Obsession with the unattainable body image, privileges reserved for the famous and fairytale happy endings we so desperately wish to believe in, all embody the notion that some people are higher in rank, better than others, and that such privilege is desired — welcome, even — and that its abuse is simply “the way things are.” As long as this is the case, our spare time, or cognitive surplus, unfortunately will be used for daydreaming about or working towards being one of the few, not for service and contribution.”
Here’s the article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tijana-milosevic/a-digital-happilyeverafte_b_857781.html
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