The Power of Accelerating Electronic Connectedness

In a recent column titled quotFuture View from 30000 feetquotamp160 I discussed the damp233jamp224 vu type of reality I live as many of my forecasts come true I stated that I would review some of the ones listed in that column to provide deeper examination of why they have become reality In that column I statedquotAccelerating Electronic Connectedness one of the three fundamental forces of the Shift Age would manifest itself in part with great political upheavals as connected individuals blow down the walled gardens of ignorance and political tyrannyquotTunisia Egypt Bahrain Libya as the beginning The nervousness in Iran Yemen Syria Saudi Arabia and China is palpablequotThis was a forecast I first made in 2008 when questioned about what effect this accelerating connectedness would have on dictators and Islamic nationsWhen people connect via the Internet on Facebook Twitter and YouTube they in effect become their own mini media companies Twentiethcentury power structures obtained power in a time when actual media companies amp8211 and only media companies amp8211 created media content Now every company every group and every individual is a media company What is a dictator to do A dictator can shut down institutional distribution systems but not electronically empowered individuals who connect from everywhereThe other phenomenon I speak about extensively involves the two generations I call the Millennials and the Digital Natives The Millennials are the twentysomethings who have come of age in this new millennium and the Digital Natives are teenage and younger The Millennials are the first generation to fully utilize social media and the Digital Natives are the first generation born into the digital landscapeWell what are the two consistent factors in every single revolutionary effort in the Middle East today First each has occurred in a country in which 4555 of the population is under the age of 25 and second each uprising has been fueled by intelligent and focused use of social mediaMore than any other force at play today these two factors explain the incredible uprisings occurring across the Middle East It is not about Islam it is about disenfranchised unemployed youth who realize that through social media they have the collective ability to educate organize and influence national and global economics and policies They also know that those who repress them do not comprehend this force Do you think Mubarak went to his Facebook page every day or sent out tweets No he told his cronies to shut the media companies down which they did but the growing connectedness of the planet and the new environment it creates was not something they had even a remote understanding of when they pushed back on the inevitable wave of history they facedI believe this accelerating electronic connectedness of human society has already altered us in ways that are radically different from the electric global village of McLuhan I also believe it will continue to be a force that will eliminate ignorance and challenge almost any authority that is based upon a 20thcentury organizational structureConnectivity is the new environment of our lives fostering new forms of nodal networks that are busy replacing those structures not busy being reshapedFacebook is the first utility of the 21st century It is replacing the utilities of the last century that were created by the parents and grandparents of those under the age of 30 A transition of historical significance is occurring Much of what I forecast is tied to the fact that we are living in shaping and experiencing an inflection point of history What a time to be aliveDavid Houle is a futurist strategist and speaker He has always been slightly ahead of the curve Houle spent more than 20 years in media and entertainment Most recently David is a featured contributor to Oprahcom Check is out here wwwoprahcomdavidhoule David can be contacted at DavidDavidHoulecomRead all Davidamp8217s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Evolution ShiftCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerMediaBizBloggers is an openthought leadership blog platform for media marketing and advertising professionals companies and organizations To contribute contact Jackmediadvisorygroupcom The opinions expressed in MediaBizBloggerscom are not those of Media Advisory Group its employees or other MediaBizBloggerscom contributors Media Advisory Group accepts no responsibility for the views of MediaBizBloggers authors

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The Power of Accelerating Electronic Connectedness

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David Houle

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