About
My personal mission is to make the entire web more social…without creating spam.
Prior to the printing press, all media was literally social. Stories were retold orally and each teller was free to add, update, or delete. Sure, personal perspectives influenced the stories, but it all came out in the wash because there were so many corroborative cross references. The content belonged to everyone and everyone was joint custodian of it.
Gutenberg’s gift unwittingly centralized control of content and attached profit to media. As the desire for wide societal influence greatly affected what was added, updated, or deleted, editorial control settled into the hands of the few.
Strong debate exists on whether journalism has become less objective; but few doubt that it has morphed into entertainment anyway, making the former question essentially moot. Meanwhile, the public feels confused if not betrayed.
But the emergence of the internet has created a new pre-Gutenberg-like era. With widespread publishing cheaply available to all, power structures are tilted as communication moves closer to a level playing field again.
It’s that important.
We are right now jointly determining how the social web will evolve. It should reflect the way we live and relate. It should not change our processes to suit itself. It should heighten our communication with all those people and organizations we’re interested in, without becoming like the stuff we carry straight from the mailbox to the recycle bin.
It’s up to you. How do you want to use the web?