From linear thought back to networked thought

I linked back to a February 08 posting by Scot Karp this morning and it really got me thinking. Scot’s message was that traditional media is linear – the content is pushed at you and your focus is on that - while web content is networked and interactive – content is dynamic and participatory and your focus is whatever you choose.

In my view, Scot’s observation is more powerful than he described. Content pushed at you is what happens in traditional education services, conferences and seminars. How many times have I been bored with listening to ‘experts on panels’! Sharing and creating knowledge is so much richer during creative conversations compared to lectures and reading books. As a strategist, I am continually frustrated with meetings and communication that are linear.

The internet is changing that paradigm. Spending time in the blogosphere is a delight – I can link to this or that depending on prompts that I experience, or the pattern-forming/ideas/imagining going on in my head.

Sure, I read books too – but i usually have three for four books going at a time. Generally I do not like to be limited by one storey or theme at a time.

Also, how long have books and newspapers been around? There is a comment from Cheryl on Scot’s posting, that “Before reading, people networked to obtain and validate information”.  I suspect that form of learding still applies largely for many people. So in that sense, networked thought is not evolutionary – it’s the way people are hard-wired to think.

Sure the printing press was revolutionary in terms of distributing information and empowering people. But the internet revolution offers more opportunities for creative thinking and sharing knowledge.

As I read Scot’s posting I recalled getting excited about Goofy2, a web service that makes it easy for users to share thoughts. I read about this on the China Web2.0 Review blog. Kashgar, one of G2’s co-founders, commented that:

“An idea on G2 is like a seed that sprouts, grows and finally flourishes into a tree, then a jungle. When an idea is posted, unlimited number of comments can be followed. When a discussion never ends and a large number of users can tag and save interesting stuff along the way. Magic happens, when people are talking freely and pick up goodies (saving and tagging) along the way, it creates some kind of mob-intelligence: People actually think together.”

I’m going like ‘yeah baby’! – and said as much in my comment to the China Web2.0 posting. Seems to me that G2 is tapping right into networked thought.