Program or be Programmed: 10 commands for a digital age - @Rushkoff

URL:  http://rushkoff.com/2010/11/19/grit-tv-with-laura-fland...

I actually attended a talk by this guy a few weeks ago and found it very enlightening. Ended up buying the book (but have not finished reading it yet).



Ten Commands for a Digital Age

I. Time - Do not always be on

The first great killer app was email which allowed us to communicate asynchronously. Now broadband is so fast and we seem to have more and more "realtime" communications that are interruptive in nature. It's important for us to unplug some of the time and contemplate a bit more.



II. Place - Live in person

As we rely more and more on virtual communication, it is definitely taking a toll on human empathy. We forget that most communication happens non-verbally, which is not communicated through these text based mediums. The virtual communications definitely serve a purpose, but it seems we have become over reliant on them and we should also focus on facilitating "real" communications so that we don't lose this ability (recognizing micro expressions on people's faces, body language, etc.)



III. Choice - You may always choose none of the above

IV. Complexity - Your are never completely right

This makes me think of the bias we have to shorter and shorter communications (i.e twitter style). I think it's awesome when people are good at this, and spend significant effort formulating complex meaning in a short sentence, but also want to point out that this leaves a lot of complexity out there. We tend to gravitate towards polarized statements, but the truth is often much more complex.



I realize that most of my assumptions and opinions are probably wrong, I just hope that they are getting less ignorant over time.



One of the great reasons I love Amplify. I may not agree with @svartling or @alexschebler all the time, but I always find the conversation to be enlightening.



V. Scale - One size does not fit all

VI. Identity - Be yourself

This one resonates strongly. I never cared for the generic anonymous comments on most websites (although there definitely existed commentary, for me, it wasn't worth sifting through the noise). I think the advent of Facebook and places like Amplify have made good use of this. You have to say what you mean with your reputation put on the line. Which I think is a good thing.



VII. Social - Do not sell your friends

VIII. Fact - Tell the truth

IX. Openness - Share, don't steal

X. Purpose - Program or be programmed

This one we definitely need more of. Both programmers and statisticians. I hope that we continue to improve our education system to help facilitate this.



--- Open Media's Take

#agentX < Can we break the greedy hand of corporatism in this digital age? Are we being monitored, commodified, and manipulated into upholding the unsustainable powers that be? Please, take the time to learn how to harness the web for intelligence. Connect with others who are programming and harnessing the tools of collaboration and transformation. Through questioning and conversation we can liberate ourselves from these degrading forces of zombification. Watch Laura Flanders' 15 min interview with Douglas Rushkoff.

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Cc @MeriWalker @ozarkherbs @CoCreatr @wwjimd @open_Intel

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/fsf3