Generation F

The talking points today are taken from this blog:

http://blogs.wsj.com/management/2009/03/24/the-facebook-generation-vs-the-fortune-500/.

Take a look at the link above, it contains a list of the 12 intrinsic values that are embodied in online communities today. Note how they shadow the perceived values of the IRL (in real life) world. These 12 values can be found on any chat board, forum or other online collaboration out there. Combined, they create a natural selection process that pushes these communities forward.

These communities are, for the most part, self moderated. Some users contribute more, others less, some are there only to "troll", or mock and debase the community. The latter are quite often run out by the former.

Of all of the points the author brings up, number 11 struck me the hardest:

"11. Intrinsic rewards matter most.

The web is a testament to the power of intrinsic rewards. Think of all the articles contributed to Wikipedia, all the open source software created, all the advice freely given—add up the hours of volunteer time and it’s obvious that human beings will give generously of themselves when they’re given the chance to contribute to something they actually care about. Money’s great, but so is recognition and the joy of accomplishment."

For those frequenting this blog, you've probably already come across our post titled OpenSource Media and read out views on society and the Marxist model. To clarify, this is the original intent of Marxism, not the perverted form that became the Communism that we know today. List point 11 immediately made me think of this. It's a great analogy, really. Here we have a community that allows the people to contribute what they can when they can toward the betterment of the community at large, and the people are happy to do so because they believe in the community, can see how their efforts make a difference, and enjoy what they're doing because of it.

The other point that really grabbed was number three:

"3. Hierarchies are natural, not prescribed.

In any Web forum there are some individuals who command more respect and attention than others—and have more influence as a consequence. Critically, though, these individuals haven’t been appointed by some superior authority. Instead, their clout reflects the freely given approbation of their peers. On the Web, authority trickles up, not down."

Or the window goes the "good old boys" model. Here we have a true democratic community. The leaders are chosen by consensus on their merits, not because of how much advertising they can afford or how many political favors they can garner. And the more any value community member contributes the more clout they receive.

If both of these points could be combined in the real world, we'd see a much different social structure. The real world, however, isn't ready for this. Online communities work well because they are opt-in, opt-out deals. The real world is not. Life moves on around us, and we all have a role to play in it. These concepts will eventually make their way into society, but not until they've been adapted to compensate for the OIOO issues, and then only when society has reached a point that they can handle such a change.