Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Where do I interact on the web?

No, seriously! Where? This morning I awoke with a nagging thought that somewhere on the web, I was in the middle of a conversation, in fact, a number of conversations. Clearly by losing track of these conversations, I was potentially being rude, but worse wasting my time and the time of others! Then it struck me that is one of the meanings of "weak ties", not only do the "weak ties" relate to the strength of the link between individuals, it can relate to the strength of the link between an individual and the application or service in which they start a conversation. Ultimately, it relates to the weak ties between an individual and the conversations that are started, What has this to do with the Jericho Forum? I have only just realised that Deperimeterisation is a much broader force being caused by the inexorable evolution of the world wide web, than I had previously grasped. A force very strongly related to that word I can never remember but happily have for this blog: ENTROPY! It does NOT just relate to an Enterprise or Organisation, the force can and does apply to a much broader set of domains. Some examples that are broader than Organisational Deperimeterisation:
Individual Deperimeterisation
The result or implications of information boundaries dissolving around an individual.
Geographic Deperimeterisation
The result or implications of information boundaries dissolving around specific geographic areas (Home, City, County, Country, group of Nations)
Conceptual Deperimeterisation
The result or implications of information boundaries dissolving around Trusted Concept Containers.
News Deperimeterisation
The result or implications of information boundaries dissolving around Trusted News Containers.
What are concept or news containers?
I can answer what they used to be, in their perimeterised form, much more easily than describing their evolving future !
Encyclopaedia Britannica was an old example of a concept container that could be trusted. They are exemplified by a number of old style "publications": Books, Peer Reviewed Papers, Magazines
Whereas News Containers or the recording of current history is also easier to exemplify in their perimetrised form. The Times or the Washington Post being two examples of perimeterised News Containers. Julian Assange's WikiLeaks being an example of an evolving deperimetrised news container?
(Read Stephen Moss article in G2 14.07.10 Darn that's one of those perimeterised containers, so you will find it hard!)
Deperimerisation is occurring across MANY domains simultaneously, we are in a massive transition!
I don't envy the lawmakers as they try and legislate for this change.
So finally back to my realisation that my conversations were being deperimeterised. I have come to understand that my deperimeterised conversations are not solely my responsibility! Which is certainly not where I started this blog. For such is the power of weak ties, it brings such things as concepts together good ideas naturally clump! So conversations that are important will take on a life of their own, though I have a sneaking suspension that another force is at work in this space that lowers the tone and import of conversations. So an important question for our future will also be: In a deperimeterised world how will we keep avoid sinking to the lowest common denominator. That has always been a challenge for humanity. SO I must own the type and level of conversations I join in.
Thus our challenge as Human Beings is to BE the concept! But that still leaves me with this nagging doubt that I am part way through many conversations, but there-in lies the power of "Weak Ties!" It's perhaps part of the reason I will be drawn back to them, for like all good weak forces they work over tremendous distances!!! Considering the different types of Deperimeterisation, each of the types have different implications that need to be handled by the relevant "authorities"???
But hold on isn't Authority being deperimeterised also? Yes, but that is a topic bigger than this blog!

.... Come to think of it Lawmaking is being deperimeterised also, what will THAT mean?

In the meantime, how can I better manage my virtual conversations?

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