Same As It Ever Was

Image courtesy

I saw Sir Tim Berners-Lee interviewed at Innovation Edge on Wednesday. He made an important distinction in defining what the web (his invention) is now all about, describing it as like a teenager - expanding its horizons, flexing its muscles, beginning to understand what it was really capable of. And in that context "the web becomes a subset of humans interacting" and a powerful platform for humans to experiment with new forms of democracy, organisation, communication. The web he said, is not comprised of connections between computers, it is "humanity connected".

I was having an interesting chat with Graeme about this the other day. The social web changes more than how we communicate. It changes how we interact, make friends, find information, express our identity, opinions, creativity, ourselves. But of-course it is wrong to focus too much on the technology that facilitates this. Which reminds me of a Seth Godin quote I like:

"Over and over again, connecting people with one another is what lasts online. Some folks thought it was about technology, but it's not."

In that sense, in a world of momentous change, nothing's changed.

Comments

[Gavin Heaton]

It is just that the technology has opened the door of random opportunity. We can now meet folks we would never have otherwise come across. That's the revolution.

[neilperkin]

Definitely agree with that Gavin. Meeting the people I have through blogging (people who I would never have met otherwise) is personally one of the most rewarding things that has come out of the whole thing.