The Disintegration of Reality – no really….
For better or worse, there is an emerging trend that goes beyond the web or media – the very fabric of reality is changing.
Reality is disintegrating. No wait hear me out.
Granular parts of our established systems are being dislodged from their containers and only reforming via temporary, loosely coupled connections.
Content is being disintegrated from the Page, TV and Radio via RSS and Microformats.
Functionality is being disintegrated from applications (loosely coupled smashups are starting to overshadow complete applications).
People are being disintegrated from families. Divorce is now common place and starting to lose its taboo. As a result families are forming all sorts of strange and lopsided combinations where ex’s and steps come together for special occasions and in support of ‘the children’. At all times, however, the individual seems to be achieving more freedom and importance than the ‘family unit’.
And finally (at least in my list of examples) people are being disintegrated from companies... People work from home or freelance more. They change jobs more. And most recently, via blogging and other online identity management tools, people are now building their own brands - their name.
They are establishing themselves as free agents of opinion, action and connections - they are forcing companies to treat them as valuable resources because they are, in fact, one of the scarcest.
Companies have always been about relationships first – who you know rather than what you know – however in an age of LinkedIn and blogging, a person’s individual worth (beyond their monetary compensation) is being measured, respected and leveraged like never before.
Reality is disintegrating. No wait hear me out.
Granular parts of our established systems are being dislodged from their containers and only reforming via temporary, loosely coupled connections.
Content is being disintegrated from the Page, TV and Radio via RSS and Microformats.
Functionality is being disintegrated from applications (loosely coupled smashups are starting to overshadow complete applications).
People are being disintegrated from families. Divorce is now common place and starting to lose its taboo. As a result families are forming all sorts of strange and lopsided combinations where ex’s and steps come together for special occasions and in support of ‘the children’. At all times, however, the individual seems to be achieving more freedom and importance than the ‘family unit’.
And finally (at least in my list of examples) people are being disintegrated from companies... People work from home or freelance more. They change jobs more. And most recently, via blogging and other online identity management tools, people are now building their own brands - their name.
They are establishing themselves as free agents of opinion, action and connections - they are forcing companies to treat them as valuable resources because they are, in fact, one of the scarcest.
Companies have always been about relationships first – who you know rather than what you know – however in an age of LinkedIn and blogging, a person’s individual worth (beyond their monetary compensation) is being measured, respected and leveraged like never before.
Labels: blogging, disintegration, identity, reality, web 2.0
2 Comments:
Very intriguing. A question? Does this mean that in essence we're all clamoring to be noticed, and is it a side-effect of a society becoming more seflish?
Well I guess it does mean we are becoming more selfish, but also more responsible for our interconnected relationships. We can't take it for granted anymore that a 'Family Unit' or a 'Company Partnership' will result in co-operation and commitment.
We need to work at our relationships and really connect with people.
So it could be said we are becoming more true to ourselves instead of getting locked in loveless marriages and dead end jobs.
On the flip side, however, it does mean that not only are companies and media clamoring for our attention (as the Touchstone Manifesto states) but so are individuals who want to get noticed and acknowledged as powerful free agents in their own right!
We have a bigger Attention problem than we first thought hah.
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