Weapons of mass instruction
An army, the size of which the world has never seen, is amassing across the globe. These are warriors of a new age. They don’t wear uniforms, march in cadence, or take orders from any commander. Their weapon of choice fires no bullets, but yet has the power to take down a U.S. presidential candidate or make the leaders of a nation of 1.3 billion people tremble at their advance.

Their chosen weapon of mass instruction is the keyboard. Connected via the internet, millions of technologically equipped fighters march forward in blogs, user forums, websites, podcasts, online chat rooms, sharing their thoughts, their files and determined to use interactive technology for self-expression and sharing their point of view.

What makes this technology-reliant army so determined?
They fight for freedom – the freedom of the individual to express himself; to form groups of like-minded people to exchange information and ideas, discuss events shaping our world, share personal stories, or simply exchange recipes.

For decades, the major media outlets – newspapers, television, radio – had absolute control over what news and information was disseminated to their passive audiences. Thanks to this growing legion of global information warriors, the battle for a free flow of information is won. In response to expanding internet services, coupled with a dramatic rise of independent thinkers around the globe, the media has been forced to reconsider how they define and communicate the news. Today, with the rise of computer mediated communities and more interactive news websites, users can customize portals with content they want to see, develop their own blogs, RSS feeds and hyperlinks, and create their own specialized online communities.

The internet: a polarizing threat to some
Some observers, however, consider this freedom to choose news and group associations as a potential threat to democracy. Cass Sunstein former government attorney and writer on first amendment issues readily admits to the growing influence and freedom of the internet, but is afraid of what it can do to a democratic society.

He believes the internet can encourage extremism, and that our democratic process becomes polarized when citizens join online communities and presumably shut out opposing points of view. In his opinion, “groups of people, especially if they are like-minded, will end up thinking the same thing they thought before, but in a more extreme form, and sometimes in a much more extreme form.”1

Meanwhile, others like Sheizaf Rafaeli and Fay Studweeks, authors of Networked Interactivity researched computer mediated communications and discovered a different result among group users. They found that they are “generally less confrontational; conversations are more helpful and social than competitive. Interactive messages seem to be more humorous, contain more self-disclosure and display a higher preference for agreement.”2

Can freedom be both good and bad?
I had to read his article, Democracy and Filtering, twice, probably because I didn’t think the author properly reconciled his disparate point of views. He spends about 90% of his time taking a hard stand on how damaging and potentially a threat to democracy internet websites and blogs can be, and the last several paragraphs run counter to his entire argument. He wants it both ways – freedom for individuals to choose, and someone force feeding us another point of view. That’s not freedom. That’s someone with influence in government who thinks he knows better than the country’s citizens.

Throughout his writing, Mr. Sunstein praises the power of the internet to “increase the opportunity for people to read and write on an extraordinary array of topics”, but hints at some form of government control.

In response to the question, “What business does the government have regulating the Internet?” in a 2001 interview on Republic.com, Mr. Sunstein replied “In fact government already regulates the Internet, a lot… At a minimum, the government regulates the Internet by creating and protecting rights of property… In these cases, and many more, the government has the same business on the Internet as it does everywhere else.”3

Faith in freedom
The question that seems to confound those that like to rule us – government or media – is how to define freedom in a democracy? I’ve always believed that I have a good mind; one that can absorb information and make an intelligent decision. I neither need, nor want, a stranger with a title telling me how to judge an issue. I really like what one of the first freedom fighters,Thomas Jefferson, wrote about this issue:

“I never submitted the whole system of my opinions to the creed of any party of men whatever, in religion, in philosophy, in politics, or in anything else, where I was capable of thinking for myself. Such an addiction is the last degradation of a free and moral agent. If I could not go to heaven but with a party, I would not go there at all.”4
~ Thomas Jefferson to Francis Hopkinson, 1789

Like many of those in power, I don’t believe that Mr. Sunstein trusts individuals to reason for themselves. He assumes that because one has a strong belief, that one will not learn about other points of view. Where humans are concerned, where haven’t there been excesses? But the power to do good vastly overshadows overblown concerns of unchecked hatred and violence. Have a little faith in man, my brother.

Freedom is meant to be challenged. Whether someone picks up only the sports page, joins a vegetarian forum, or creates a blog about a new political party, it is the collection of our differences and our ability to interact with one another and learn in the process which makes our freedom so valuable to the future of global democracy. Blog on!

Citations

1 Sunstein, Cass R. (2004) Democracy and Filtering, Communications of the ACM, December, Vol. 47, No. 12.

2 Rafaeli, Sheizaf and Sudweeks, Fay (1997) Networked Interactivity, Journal of Computer Aided Mediations.

3 Sunstein, Cass (2001) Cass R. Sunstein, Author of Republic.com, Princeton University Press.

4 CharlesCurley.com (2006) Thomas Jefferson: Patron Saint of the Internet, Thomas Jefferson Letter to Francis Hopkinson 1789.

Technology gives us the world in the palm of our hands

People in every corner of the globe – from undeveloped countries to the world’s most industrialized nations – need only a handheld electronic device, as simple as a cell phone, to bond with one another in new relationships that redefine the meaning of what it is to be a family, a community. Traditional barriers of shared space and same time no longer apply, or are needed, as today’s technology instantly connects us allowing us to share personal, social and business information. It is the best opportunity global societies have ever had to learn about one another and come together as partners in the world we all share.

The Generation Gap ~ Maybe it’s meant to be

Throughout history, it is often the younger members of any social group who eagerly embrace a new idea, a novel approach to an old problem, or forsaking the tried and true, create a whole new paradigm. It’s no different today as younger people, from teenagers to adults in their early thirties have mastered the new mobile technology.

Howard Rheingold, a professor at UC Berkeley School of Information and Digital Journalism at Stanford, first encountered text messaging by young teens and college students at Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the world’s busiest intersections with 1,500 people crossing from eight streets every time the light turns green, yet even though people must navigate through a huge crowd, many still carry on phone conversations and text messages with people located elsewhere. http://www.3deearts.com/tokyo/tokyo/shibuya/shibuya_crowded.jpg
http://www.3deearts.com/tokyo/tokyo/shibuya/shibuya_inter1.jpg 1

Through interviews he learned that young people felt a sense of freedom from the rigid boundaries of a crowded, home life and that they used their cell phones, or keitai, to carve out a private space and time for themselves with friends and other social groups.

Our incredibly shrinking technology

We are a product of our time, and the technology of our era sets the pace for how we communicate to one another, and to the rest of the world. In the early 20th century, it was the age of radio. The audience for this transistor-filled device was limited by how far radio waves could travel. And it certainly couldn’t fit in your hand. There was no user participation or interaction. It was a one-way communications. A great example is Franklin Roosevelt’s Fireside Chats, http://history.acusd.edu/gen/20th/fc/01.html ,1 which held families captive around the radio to listen to the president expound upon critical issues of the day.

By the mid-50s, television replaced radio as the leading electronic communication, still one-way, and limited to its transmission capabilities. It was a passive technology embraced by a population eager to sit in front of a large box to be entertained. Visit the I Love Lucy website and click on the old fashioned television to view some short clips of this popular television series. http://www.youns.com/lucy/video.asp 2

In the early 80s, the desktop computer became affordable and offered individuals a new technology to share information and communicate. With the introduction of the internet, the possibilities of reaching out to sites around the world defied comprehension. It was the beginning of an electronic dialogue, and just a taste to come of the incredible advances that would make the personal computer a true interactive communications.

Mobile technology sets us free

We’ve gone from a roaming society of hunters and gatherers, to a land-locked society of farmers and builders of cities, to once again a roaming society where the tool is neither bow and arrow or plough, but invisible streaming bits of electronic data. Packaged in lightweight, hand held devices like cell phones and PDAs, they give us the unparalleled freedom to communicate with anyone, anywhere, at any time. “The nature of community is changing: from being a social network of households to a social network of individuals.” 3

Mobile technology mixes space and place, giving us the freedom to be in two places at the same time. While physically located in one place, we can simultaneously be free to occupy a different space simply by using a cell phone.

Around the world, the cost of text messaging on mobile phones is usually a few cents, cheaper than owning and maintaining a computer and internet connection which means that more people can readily access the power of today’s technology.

The electronic path to a better world

Conversation opens the doorway to our minds, to the how, what and why of our inner being. As more people in countries around the world communicate and stay in contact using mobile technology, we may just be able to harness this power to form lasting, personal connections, and shape new worldwide communities. Perhaps people becoming intimate with a new type of family dynamics will feel more responsible for one another. What a technology this would be.

Citations
1 Shibuya Station, The Tokyo Virtual Tour (1999). http://www.3deearts.com/tokyo/shibuyaekiphoto.html

2 Mid Hudson Regional Information Center (2005), Fireside Chats of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Fireside Chat No 1, On the Bank Crisis, March 12, 1933.

3 Youns.com,(2006).

4 Wellman, Barry (2005), Communications of the ACM, Community: Fro Neighborhood to Network, October 2005, Volume 48, No. 10, Page 55.

Technology as a tool of man

I view technology as a tool. It can be low tech or high tech, but it is always a method or device to make a human task easier. No matter what level of technology engineers and scientists design, it should be created and used with careful consideration of its effects on mankind.

Although a computer is a technological marvel, I often view it as a high-priced pencil and paper. Just because you have the latest pc and word processing software, it doesn’t make you Hemingway. You have to know how to write. It is, after all, just a tool to help organize and store your work.

Another computer-based technology is desktop publishing. Today, these graphic design programs do the job that once required a handful of professionals and weeks to deliver. Once the exclusive tool of the design and printing industries, this technological advance in design output has opened up the field of communications for millions of people around the globe, allowing users everywhere to create and transmit electronic graphic presentations.

Sharing knowledge benefits everyone

This application of technology, available to everyone today, would probably have brought a smile to Dr. Vannevar Bush, a scientist and leading proponent in 1945 (before the advent of the personal computer) of using technology to share information. He stated in his article, As We May Think, “For mature thought there is no mechanical substitute.”¹ In his research, he was challenged by the innate abilities of the human mind and sought ways to develop technology patterned after human thought processes. He believed that shared knowledge is the key to the betterment of man. I couldn’t agree more.

No matter what advances in technology have come before or are yet to be, it is our mind, with its unlimited creativity and capacity to think, which is our greatest resource. In Human-Built World by Thomas Hughes, one of the 20th century’s most eminent historians of technology,³ he lists many prominent philosophers, social scientists, researchers, titans of industry and government officials who championed technology as an important tool to benefit society. One of these was economist, computer technology specialist and author, George Gilder. In his book, Microcosm, he wrote, “Today wealth comes not to the rulers of slave labor but to liberators of human creativity, not the conquerors of land but to the emancipators of the mind. Impelled by an accelerating surge of innovation, this trend will transform man’s relations with nature in the twenty-first century.”²

Communications is the future of technology

I don’t believe that technology has, or will, make us better people, or collectively, a better society. Yes, it frees us from repetitive tasks; makes it easier to perform certain functions, it even improves our living standards and helps us outlive our recent ancestors. But modern technological systems can also make us mentally lazy and almost emotionally dependent on them for simple, human tasks. We must remember it is a tool to serve us.

Yet, I am optimistic that technology can help us in our future human endeavors. Look at how the twenty-first century computer and the internet have exponentially expanded our ability to communicate with anyone, and seemingly everyone, around the globe. With an open, interactive system to talk with each other, to easily discuss any topic, to promote acceptance of different ideas and points of view, perhaps belief in a positive use and outcome for technology, designed with humans in mind, is worth serious consideration.

References

¹ Bush, Vannevar (1945) As We May Think, Atlantic Monthly Online, July, Retrieved  September 1, 2006 http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/print/194507/bush

² Thompson, Emily (2004) Not Artifacts, but Acts, American Scientist Online, November-December, Retrieved September 6, 2006 http://www.americanscientist.org/template/BookReviewTypeDetail/assetid/37212;jsessionid=aaa5KA1bDGt-L

³ McCann, John (1995) Gilder’s Microcosm, March 8, Professor at Duke University, Fuqua School of Business, Retrieved September 6, 2006  http://www.duke.edu/~mccann/gild-tel.htm

 

The character of communications

There is an old Irish proverb, “The work praises the man.”

I love this because it is so obvious. When you do good work, when it hits the mark, you don’t have to talk about it. Your work is recognized by others. This external praise is real, and it is a high. When this happens, it makes you want to keep on smiling, and keep turning out a level of work worthy of such accolades.

 

 

I like to take this proverb in a different direction, “The work reveals the man.”

It is the integrity of your work that communicates to the world who you are. It is the subjects you choose to talk about, how you present them and how you respect your audience. Once again, you don’t have to brag about your work, it will stand on its own for others to judge not just your talent, but also the person reflected in the work.

 

 

Communications is my passion

No matter where I am or what I am doing, I always find myself observing the details of all forms of communications – an ad, a book jacket, a menu design, company collateral, a movie, a road sign. Anything with a graphic design and text. I mentally review, analyze, often redesign or edit the message, applaud the outstanding ones, and file them in my head for possible future applications. I love to keep abreast of  the trends in design and evaluate the marketing campaigns of successful companies in the marketplace.

 

 

I’ve worked in the field of communications for over 20 years, both as a marketing manager and as a consultant. I’ve started up marketing functions, headed up departments and acted as a full-service agency in the fields of manufacturing, professional services, education and consumer goods. My goal was to become a vice president of corporate communications for a manufacturing company. But when I came to CT from NY, the tide was on its way out for these firms with production going overseas and the building compounds of once proud names of American industry giving way to shopping centers, condominiums and parking lots.

 

 

So, rather than fight the times, I chose to work in high tech industries, service firms and education. While it wasn’t my original plan to acquire a wide range of experience in different fields, I can honestly say now it was worth the ups and downs. There is no other way to see firsthand how so many industries promote their products and services.

 

 

Interactive communications is my master

I am by nature, a tactile person, and so I love the print media. Creating a compelling and cohesive company story on paper from business cards to data sheets to brochures to annual reports is deeply rewarding. From the initial comps to the first sheet off the press, I find the process exhilarating. However, even more exciting today is the new challenge of digital interactive communications. Using the computer, which I have considered a trusted companion since the early eighties, to communicate with and involve others in the process not only levels the playing field but opens it up to almost endless possibilities. With the teaching and guidance of the professors, and insightful discussions with my classmates