Democratization of Information
Apart from helping people connect and interact and collaborate on things, Internet has actually democratized information. People can now upload their thoughts in any form (text, audio, video, mashup), tag them appropriately and watch the entire world discover it and take it forward.
You no longer need to be a celebrity or a rockstar or a politician to attract crowds as long as you know the right forums to voice your opinion.
The beauty of the medium is that the response is immediate. You will know in an instant if your idea holds merit and if it excites more people. You will get instant feedback. You will get in touch with people who think the way you think and you can now collaborate.
Any quick and dirty opinions?
This post has 3 comments
August 5th, 2008
I was just thinking this over in my head too.
I think that the biggest change that democratization of information brings is the breakdown of the ‘expert’. A paper on breakthrough social media thinking can be trashed in seconds by students, stay-at-home moms, simply because they are receiving all the information that you are.
So then, what happens to experts if everyone can become one. Adding your own two cents is what will help you differentiate.
It’s not about what you know, but what you can do with what you know.
August 5th, 2008
It is true..can’t deny it but wanted to add something more to your post w.r.t. these lines: “….The beauty of the medium is that the response is immediate. You will know in an instant if your idea holds merit and if it excites more people…”. Now the point I want to raise here is two-fold- One is CREDIBILITY and the other is AUDIENCE SIZE. By credibility I mean, if you are Seth Godin/Robert Scoble then responses are high and you can judge your idea’s meritocracy and the other is size which also gives you chance to comprehend how great is your idea even though quality may lack…I hope I made sense here!
Still not a bad thoughts..Nw would like ur thoughts on these lines..Pls Saurabh!
Cheers!
August 5th, 2008
@Sonal couldn’t agree more. It does help break the “expert monotony”.
@Sampad I dont think credibility plays a large role. I am no Scoble/Godin but I can still get people like you and Sonal to comment and ignite a discussion.
Yes it is desired to have a credibility but even without credibility you can get audience.
On audience size, the beauty of web is that you can find audience if you want to. I can publish this same article on a larger forum like pluggdin, still larger like techcrunch (obvisouly I am assuming that I will be able to publish there)
And in the end, web allows you to become Credible and attract Larger Audience. Great points though.
Also, a part of your query is answered by @sonal’s comment also.
Thanks,
SG
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