Emancipation
Complexity
Availability
Ubiquity
These traits define the exchange of information on the digital era and are the main reason why our time is being re-shaped by the social media revolution: a deep transformation in the way society interacts and develops that detaches from history by setting new grounds.
Emancipation:
From the beginning of civilization, when information was ordered and validated by shamans, by wisemen, by elders of the tribes, to the invention of written language and the coming of scholars, all the way to the invention of the press and then to the late 90’s and television globalization, content creation and distribution had always been the privilege of the few who controlled social activity by controlling the flow of information.
But the miniaturized technology that brought personal computers, cellular phones and Internet to the common people is rapidly tipping the scales and today anyone with a smartphone can capture and share anything to the entire world, effectively becoming a broadcaster himself in seconds. This, that so fast became a common experience to almost everybody, is forcibly snatching centuries of information control out of the media corporations and the governments behind them. To what end is yet to be seen but truth is anyone can deliver relevant content, even opposing mainstream content, something never seen before in all the human history.
Complexity:
Because before the information was filtered by the powers that be, available data was delivered in context and given a predefined order that mad it simple. But technology is enhancing the reach of our senses, letting us gather a lot more information of the world than ever before with sensors, cameras, gps and so on; and because, at the same time, this same technology let us share all that data immediately to the entire planet and, even more, get instant feedback, springing new data every second .
Therefore, what had been always a steady flow of information has become an overwhelming ocean of data springing from a myriad of broadcasters, creating an endless pool of data of all sorts, from the most general to the absolutely specific, the more complex as it grows.
All this complexity needs to be sorted out, sieving the data to make sense of it. But meaning is something personal and so are choices. That is why choice today is the real power.
Availability:
When books first appeared, as rare as they were on those early days, reading became the best tool for regular people to advance in life and to outgrow their background. But then books were scarce, kept in guarded libraries and written in foreign or archaic languages. Press made them common, but expensive, so they were still luxury items. Information was for a long time difficult to get.
Complexity
Availability
Ubiquity
These traits define the exchange of information on the digital era and are the main reason why our time is being re-shaped by the social media revolution: a deep transformation in the way society interacts and develops that detaches from history by setting new grounds.
Emancipation:
From the beginning of civilization, when information was ordered and validated by shamans, by wisemen, by elders of the tribes, to the invention of written language and the coming of scholars, all the way to the invention of the press and then to the late 90’s and television globalization, content creation and distribution had always been the privilege of the few who controlled social activity by controlling the flow of information.
But the miniaturized technology that brought personal computers, cellular phones and Internet to the common people is rapidly tipping the scales and today anyone with a smartphone can capture and share anything to the entire world, effectively becoming a broadcaster himself in seconds. This, that so fast became a common experience to almost everybody, is forcibly snatching centuries of information control out of the media corporations and the governments behind them. To what end is yet to be seen but truth is anyone can deliver relevant content, even opposing mainstream content, something never seen before in all the human history.
Complexity:
Because before the information was filtered by the powers that be, available data was delivered in context and given a predefined order that mad it simple. But technology is enhancing the reach of our senses, letting us gather a lot more information of the world than ever before with sensors, cameras, gps and so on; and because, at the same time, this same technology let us share all that data immediately to the entire planet and, even more, get instant feedback, springing new data every second .
Therefore, what had been always a steady flow of information has become an overwhelming ocean of data springing from a myriad of broadcasters, creating an endless pool of data of all sorts, from the most general to the absolutely specific, the more complex as it grows.
All this complexity needs to be sorted out, sieving the data to make sense of it. But meaning is something personal and so are choices. That is why choice today is the real power.
Availability:
When books first appeared, as rare as they were on those early days, reading became the best tool for regular people to advance in life and to outgrow their background. But then books were scarce, kept in guarded libraries and written in foreign or archaic languages. Press made them common, but expensive, so they were still luxury items. Information was for a long time difficult to get.
Then came the newspapers, and the radio, and eventually TV made its debut and bewildered the
world. But it was not until Internet came to life that information became truly widely available,
from the very personal information about closest friends to specialized info on every topic there is.
As technology advances and data transmission speeds up, availability increases exponentially giving us the opportunity to watch detailed content in seconds, shortening the wait. The result is an increasingly anxious demand for immediacy. Patience is growing thin in the world
Ubiquity:
But perhaps the most astonishing trait about today’s digital life is its ubiquity, the amazing omnipresence of access points to the digital world.
When smartphones appeared and made Internet available through almost anywhere, our digital world could truly got out of the homes and offices and became a digital life, making it possible to share information wherever and whenever we pleased.
As communications technologies grow stronger and faster, this ubiquity of the digital world becomes more and more real. This year, with the upcoming AppleWatch, a new generation of gadgets will hit the markets; an even more personal way to communicate will come to life permanently in touch with our skin. And if anyone thinks it cannot get more intimate and personal than that, think again. This is only the dawn of a new skintight relationship between the digital world and our real, everyday life that will ultimately bond the two realities beyond our imagination.
As technology advances and data transmission speeds up, availability increases exponentially giving us the opportunity to watch detailed content in seconds, shortening the wait. The result is an increasingly anxious demand for immediacy. Patience is growing thin in the world
Ubiquity:
But perhaps the most astonishing trait about today’s digital life is its ubiquity, the amazing omnipresence of access points to the digital world.
When smartphones appeared and made Internet available through almost anywhere, our digital world could truly got out of the homes and offices and became a digital life, making it possible to share information wherever and whenever we pleased.
As communications technologies grow stronger and faster, this ubiquity of the digital world becomes more and more real. This year, with the upcoming AppleWatch, a new generation of gadgets will hit the markets; an even more personal way to communicate will come to life permanently in touch with our skin. And if anyone thinks it cannot get more intimate and personal than that, think again. This is only the dawn of a new skintight relationship between the digital world and our real, everyday life that will ultimately bond the two realities beyond our imagination.
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