Always On
As I sat in a meeting the other day, I watched in amazement as several other attendees performed, what can only be described as a kind of myopic mating ritual, with their Blackberries. Apart from being mentally absent from the room, which is a rudeness in itself, I pondered the consequences of a world were we are always connected – always on. Clearly in the near future the technology will go one step further and imbed personal communications devices in our clothing or on our person and then shortly thereafter, “I’ve got you under my skin will take on a whole new meaning!”
Being ‘always on’ is in many ways quite seductive. We knew in the 20th. Century that information and knowledge was power, and many of us still have that sense deeply ingrained in our psyches. But like many seductions it is all an illusion. While the power, seamlessness, and real time qualities, of streaming information is undeniable, in many ways being ‘always on’ is actually being ‘often off.’ Information without context is really quite useless and certainly can’t masquerade as knowledge.
Of course we need new information, but in a non linear world we also need to take time and space to make sense of what is occurring. We need to understand the new patterns. My experience is that so many Blackberry addicts stay in the old patterns becasue they are so busy being preoccupied with information! They have failed to understand that with the amount of new information being created every day to fill a small sized room with digital information, the rules for success are changing. What we all want and need is the ability to filter, synthesize and apply.
Taking time away from information gives us the space, allows this filtering to occur and also fosters synchronicity. That is the connecting of totally new ideas, from outside our established patterns with what we know, to produce new stuff. Otherwise all that happens is that we just get caught in the hype of the moment. In the 21st Century the processes and frameworks that we use to process the vast array of information are as important as the information itself. Taking time to reflect - turning off - is really the time when processes and frameworks meet information.
In many ways the global media mimic Blackberries on steroids. They think that all people want is information, and of course we all do, but only to a level that helps us make sense of what is occurring around us. I think we also need ideas and commentary that helps us make sense of it all. That ability to provide commentary was what earned the media its initial title of the fourth estate. One, that of more recent times, they have happily abandoned in favour of their infotainment ‘circus circus’ role.[see note below]
Being ‘always on’ is learning how to step away from the information, to get in touch with our internal selves and build the courses of action that will help us navigate this uncertain and turbulent world. In many ways it is much more uncertain because of the rate and nature of information exchange. And for those of you who are really addicted to your email, who really feel that the world can't do with your reply to all emails, do a quick audit and name 10 significant emails that you read last week. Can you?
Note. From four to five estates? The notion of estates refers to the institutions of competing interests that need to be balanced, if one is to create a civil society that is open diverse and tolerant. Depending on who you read, in general terms these estates are, or were: The King, President or executive who constitute the first estate – they lead. The second estate is traditionally the church [or in some societies]senate or representatives of the landed interests [nobles] – and the third estate is the people – they provide mandate and set the laws.
The fourth estate is the media who are in many senses the glue or mirror that enable each of the other estates to interact in honest ways with each other. Some, including me, argue that the traditional media have abandoned their role as the fourth estate and reinvented themselves as infotainment businesses – sort of 21st century versions of the Roman circus – to keep the people happy and preoccupied! I and others hope that the fifth estate – the internet - will in time take over this role and in the process disintermediate and make the role of the fourth estate redundant.
Being ‘always on’ is in many ways quite seductive. We knew in the 20th. Century that information and knowledge was power, and many of us still have that sense deeply ingrained in our psyches. But like many seductions it is all an illusion. While the power, seamlessness, and real time qualities, of streaming information is undeniable, in many ways being ‘always on’ is actually being ‘often off.’ Information without context is really quite useless and certainly can’t masquerade as knowledge.
Of course we need new information, but in a non linear world we also need to take time and space to make sense of what is occurring. We need to understand the new patterns. My experience is that so many Blackberry addicts stay in the old patterns becasue they are so busy being preoccupied with information! They have failed to understand that with the amount of new information being created every day to fill a small sized room with digital information, the rules for success are changing. What we all want and need is the ability to filter, synthesize and apply.
Taking time away from information gives us the space, allows this filtering to occur and also fosters synchronicity. That is the connecting of totally new ideas, from outside our established patterns with what we know, to produce new stuff. Otherwise all that happens is that we just get caught in the hype of the moment. In the 21st Century the processes and frameworks that we use to process the vast array of information are as important as the information itself. Taking time to reflect - turning off - is really the time when processes and frameworks meet information.
In many ways the global media mimic Blackberries on steroids. They think that all people want is information, and of course we all do, but only to a level that helps us make sense of what is occurring around us. I think we also need ideas and commentary that helps us make sense of it all. That ability to provide commentary was what earned the media its initial title of the fourth estate. One, that of more recent times, they have happily abandoned in favour of their infotainment ‘circus circus’ role.[see note below]
Being ‘always on’ is learning how to step away from the information, to get in touch with our internal selves and build the courses of action that will help us navigate this uncertain and turbulent world. In many ways it is much more uncertain because of the rate and nature of information exchange. And for those of you who are really addicted to your email, who really feel that the world can't do with your reply to all emails, do a quick audit and name 10 significant emails that you read last week. Can you?
Note. From four to five estates? The notion of estates refers to the institutions of competing interests that need to be balanced, if one is to create a civil society that is open diverse and tolerant. Depending on who you read, in general terms these estates are, or were: The King, President or executive who constitute the first estate – they lead. The second estate is traditionally the church [or in some societies]senate or representatives of the landed interests [nobles] – and the third estate is the people – they provide mandate and set the laws.
The fourth estate is the media who are in many senses the glue or mirror that enable each of the other estates to interact in honest ways with each other. Some, including me, argue that the traditional media have abandoned their role as the fourth estate and reinvented themselves as infotainment businesses – sort of 21st century versions of the Roman circus – to keep the people happy and preoccupied! I and others hope that the fifth estate – the internet - will in time take over this role and in the process disintermediate and make the role of the fourth estate redundant.
posted by Mike at 8:41 AM
2 Comments:
What is the meaning of the expression "this non-linear world"? The way you uses it implied that it is now common language. Is it like now we are in the 21st Century we are "modern". Regards Mark
Good question Mark. By a non linear world I mean that there are a range of impacts coming from many directions which challenge our ways of thinking and the logic that has made us successful.
This idea of non linear is very different from the way we thought and acted in the 20th century. What we have done, until now, is put things in silos and boxes. So for example, we put the idea of health in one box and education in another. In doing so we concentrated on what was inside the box first and what was outside it second. We relied on the fact that we would have time to make any changes inside the box if things outside the box changed. Our world therefore was very much a linear one. We tended to project what we knew and thought would make us successful into the future. We can really see this in the way that we organise the idea of government
Now thats not the case. The boundaries have become blurred and the external environment often has immediate and significant impacts. In this non linear world it is more important to look at the external enviroment in all its dimensions first and how we need to change and adapt to survive in that world second.
And how do we make sense of all these things? One way is to create pictures or scenarios. I Robot for example is one such picture or scenario, although its probably 2013 not 2030!
Post a Comment
<< Home