The Internet is transforming the human experience. It empowers individuals with the means to create movements for change. Innovative geniuses use it to harness the collective efforts of millions of people to accomplish near impossible tasks. As long as there is a free Internet, the power to revolutionize the world lies right at the fingertips of the people.
James Surowiecki: When social media became news
The blogosphere’s performance in providing a complete and dramatic picture of the tsunami event is seen as a turning point for blogging becoming legitimate news. Surowiecki uses this as an example of a collective intelligence outperforming an individual one under the right conditions.
Seth Godin: On the tribes we lead
The act of someone committing to making a change in the status quo makes them become a leader. These efforts create a culture which attracts a core group of people who believe the same thing allowing the idea to spread and become a movement.
Adam Ostrow: After your final status update
Digital information being left behind by deceased persons is creating a lasting digital essence that may one day be capable of interacting with the living.
Eli Pariser: Beware online “filter bubbles”
The effort by news services to specifically target information to individuals leads to people being cut off from potentially important information. This ultimately restricts social change by limiting the outlook of people. No one works for change when they don’t realize there is a problem.
Rebecca MacKinnon: Let’s take back the Internet
There is a need for sustained effort at creating genuine Internet freedom so that technology serves the people of the world and not the other way around. Innovation in the political arena is necessary to help make this movement successful.
Tim Leberecht: 3 ways to (usefully) lose control of your brand
Loosening the grip on a brand or reputation through transparency is a positive way to influence long term sustainable results. This forces companies to show their true essence and make that something of value.
Alexis Ohanian: How to make a splash in social media
Introducing a new idea to the Internet is so easy and inexpensive that it creates a level playing field so long as there is net neutrality. Those releasing the idea must understand that no one is in control. The Internet itself is the final determinant of success.
Lisa Gansky: The future of business is the “mesh”
Sharing resources in all manner of things is the business model of the future. The success of this new paradigm will force reluctant businesses to participate.
Luis von Ahn: Massive-scale online collaboration
A collaborative effort of people solving large problems by breaking them down into small pieces. A few seconds of previously wasted time multiplied by a percentage of the Internet population equals an enormous number of man hours applied to problems thereby generating great value.
Joe Sabia: The technology of storytelling
Sabia points out that technology has always been a part of storytelling. New advances in technology will force storytelling to evolve as well.
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