This popped into my head recently….
“If society held a mirror to itself, its reflection would be the Internet.“
The longer I entertained that metaphor, the more I genuinely believe it to be the case. Current estimates put the global Internet population (regardless of speed or connection) at around 1.6 BILLION. That’s a big sample size, 1/4 in fact of the 6 BILLION or so people that live on the planet.
Think of the Internet as your big brother, that one that knows more about you than anyone else. Your hobbies, interests, strengths, fantasies, secrets, passions, mistakes, peculiar habits or deviant peccadillo’s. Just like your fictional big brother, the Internet knows all that and more about you, including your address, income, marital status, its even got embarrassing photos of you uploaded by your high school teacher, archived in Google image search.
For all the countless catchphrases associated with the Internet banded around in boardrooms and on the street, “social networking”, “viral marketing”, “interconnectivity”, “branded content”, “netrepreneurs” or “360 synergy” through to the stories forever etched in Internet folklore “Nigerian money laundering” “Viagra spam emails” or “Bill Gates is sending me a cheque” – when you break it down to its most basic function, the Internet is about one thing.
Collaboration.
John Donne famously said that “No man is an island.” and with the Internet, you’ve got no excuse. I believe society functions on the basic principle that people essentially need each other. That might sound overly simplistic, but the human race isn’t as overly complicated we’re lead to believe (others agree.)
Some of the most advanced societies from the old world, were the most democratic and progressive – from the Egyptians building the pyramids, to the Mayan lunar calendar, from the fearsome Tribesmen of Papua New Guinea, to the unity of the great Roman Empire. All of those feats, be it construction, unearthing scientific insights, harnessing the power of intimidation or assembling the greatest army in the world, were the result of collaboration.
We’ve evolved from cavemen hunting in groups for food, to suits hunting in packs for grotesque profits on Wall St. Whatever the end result, we achieve far more together, than as individuals.
There is no better example of that, than the Internet. A place where everything is accessible. Inspiration, knowledge, influence, insights and passions are all shared by their billions in rapid exchanges.
Unable to be monitored, unable to be quantified but it’s unquestionably brought us all closer together. By collaborating we’ve learned so much about our true nature as a species – the good, the evil and the spectrum in between.
If there’s one thing the Internet has demonstrated without a shadow of a doubt, it’s that it truly is a reflection of the world itself.
Your Friend,
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