I like reading content that teaches me
something. I don't like reading blogs that teach the wrong thing. But
how would we know the difference?
Knowing whether something is the proper perspective, the correct
analysis or insightful is relevant to our existing knowledge asset in
reference to other knowledge assets. A knowledge asset is simply that
which we've learned, experienced or discovered. Our knowledge asset rest
between our ears and in our hearts. We own, use, share and increase it
every day, at least some of us do.
Life emerges in front of us based on our individual knowledge assets.
We make choices based on what we know and we create things based on
what we know. What we create is emergent properties of knowledge we
think we have for others to consume. What we consume is emergent
properties of knowledge others think they have. Everything in life is
filtered through and by our knowledge assets. We call it an asset
because everything of worth is created from and with it. The worth can
be positive or negative based on how much knowledge we have and how well
we use or grow it.
A Web of Knowledge?
The World Wide Web
is a popular example of a decentralized system exhibiting emergent
properties. There is no central organization rationing the number of
links, yet the number of links pointing to each page follows a power law in which
a few pages are linked to many times and most pages are seldom linked
to. A related property of the network of links in the World Wide Web is
that almost any pair of pages can be connected to each other through a
relatively short chain of links. Although relatively well known now,
this property was initially unexpected in an unregulated network. It is
shared with many other types of networks called small-world
networks.(Barabasi,
Jeong, & Albert 1999, pp. 130-131)
Emergence of Convergence?
The word convergence implies the approach toward a definite
value, a definite point, a common view or opinion, or toward a fixed or
equilibrium state. One might ask what is the definite value, definite
point, common view or opinion about what is emerging from all the
interactions of the web today. The answer seems to be pointing towards
the pursuit of "social capital, social currency" and a defined
new currency. The words capital and currency are terms that related to
economics. The economics of all things social seem to be the obsession
of the marketplace seeking to measure a return on efforts from most
things that are free.
What seems evident is that the convergence of thought and
conversations are moving knowledge forward but knowledge yet to be
defined with common agreement to its meaning and relevant definition. Brian
Solis sparked some dialog with his "Social
Capital: The Currency of the Social Economy" post. Venessa
Miemis added to the dialog in two post : What
Could the Future of Money Look Like? and "Social
Capital is Not the Same As Whuffie". All three of these post
created a stir of dialog, definition, argument, perspectives and
attempts to put new meaning into new knowledge emerging before our eyes.
The irony of all this dialog is that most of us use existing "knowledge
assets" (that which we've learned, experience and create) to try
and frame the emergence of innovation. Innovation typically is
something, including knowledge, that previously did not exist. So maybe
we need to "link" old knowledge to create new knowledge that can
converge and create new assets. Imagine linking our collective
"knowledge assets" and aiming the process at innovation that creates a
new economy.
Could it be done? Yes if we could agree to a process of ego
convergence.