Keith Lay, Composer - Gordon Brown and Clay Shirky on Social Media

In "Wiring a Web for Global Good", UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown delivers a strong point that empathy is alive and well on Earth and a Global Society is in reach thanks to current technology. In general, we are too busy with our daily concerns to worry too much about events beyond our personal horizon - that is, until an image is placed before us that we simply cannot ignore. Olof Palme, Prime Minister of Sweden believed that a global ethic supporting the growth of every individual to realize their fullest potential endures even now. Herein lies that global potential of society: the internet. Mr. Brown's argument is not that people don't care and cannot be moved from the status quo of profit-making: it is that today's internet can foment social change because of the information it collaboratively conveys at near zero cost and ease and has the power to move hearts and minds. Global organizations for security, environment and justice can be constructed by the people for the people.

Is this just a pipe dream? The corporate organization of our country, military, churches, towns, counties, schools and businesses seem so calcified that it seems so. Daniel Goleman says that we are hardwired to connect to others and that, furthermore, we are programmed for kindnessGood ideals have not changed the world so far - remember Siddhartha Gautama and Jesus? - great ideals that have not sunk into society very deeply. Why should they now? .

Clay Shirky believes that Social Media has already begun to change the top-down control of news that in turn creates our views of the world, thus radically changes political action. The politics have been changed: the 2007 Nigeria election that employed texting - US citizens making video of voting precincts for the US 2008 election, and the Chinese Great Firewall. He states the three biggest social revolutions came 1) with the printing press (one to many), then 2) the telegraph and telephone (two way conversations), recorded media and broadcast (one to many) media. The web revolution is the many to many model, which we have never seen in history. Lastly, 3) consumers become producers because the technology allows both. This allows consumers to talk to each other - the number being the square of the number of those in the social network. Now all previous media is also contained in the net.

:: References:
Shirky, C. (2008.) Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations. Penguin Press HC

Goleman, D. (2006) Social Intelligence: The Revolutionary New Science of Human Relationships. Bantam Books. New York.