For the uninitiated, “groupthink” is a term coined the 70′s that the old and crotchety have begun attacking the internet geneartion with. The argument is that as communication networks have grown, teenagers and young people rely on the opinions of others to form their own identity and stifles the creation of truly unique thought.

However, most would do well to remember Steven Johnson’s national bestseller “Everything Bad is Good For You”, which argued for the merits of bad habits everywhere. Videogames, Television, almost nothing was out of bounds. Although there was a lot of criticism against the book, the lesson learned was that for every bad habit that takes away from the old way of doing things, a new skill is learned.

As for groupthink, what from outside seems to be an increase in intellectual internet-based collectvism doesn’t take into account the huge percentage of people who are not participating but watching and learning the difference between genuine ideas and agenda-motivated ideological pushing.

Or put simply,
because we are connected and constantly observed and aggregated, the truly talented and special know how to stand out and be an individual.

So the next time you hear someone bemoan the loss of original creative thought, don’t be afraid to feel a little entitled to feeling part of something new. A generation so aware of its collectivism that we’ve learned to discern out the real gems of humanity. And more cat videos than you could shake a stick at.

However I think it’s important to note that Ted Stevens was a part of a Government board in charge of regulating the internet, something that doesn’t phase myself in the least. No matter what block the government comes up with, nerds will find a way around it, as has been demonstrated in China.

No, what really truly scares me are the companies who provide our “supply” of internet, such as Time Warner and Cox Cable. Right now it is profitable to keep a monthly based unlimited acces subscription model for the internet, but with our without government access there’s not much from keeping companies from changing their policies for allowing access for the internet.

What if companies started charging per page refresh for internet users or search hit for companies being hosted on the internet? Then any exploding phenomenon would have to be filtered through a site with premium access such as reddit or digg, restricting access to independent voices using the internet as a tool for free speech.

I don’t mean to be unnesscesarily paranoid, but it’s just food for thought to keep in mind. Instead of being afraid of the government getting involved and runing the internet, perhaps we should welcome government involvement as long as it protects consumers from internet providers limiting access to the information superhighway.

However, it’s when outstanding individuals get involved and use twitter as a tool to interact with people that twitter actually acts like the revolution it promised.

Case in point: Imogen Heap.

Create Digital Music wrote a terrific blog post about how Ms. Heap used twitter as a platform to get feedback from her fans while working on the album, explaining how it was made and posting the exhausting emotional trek of putting yourself to tape.

She answered questions, gave insights and even posted joyous videos of her listening to her newly made songs.

here’s some vocals i’ve been working oooooooonnnn!!! xxx on 12seconds.tv

All of this of course leads to more connection between the listener and the album, encouraging the listener to support the artist by buying merchandise.

Maybe that is the true purpose of Twitter and UGC, not to “crowd-source” out large pieces of work to multiple small workers, but to provide a platform to find the truly talented and be a bridge between those people and those that appreciate them.

2.0 indeed. Exciting times.

SIDE NOTE: If you really want to get your head blown in by some awesome UGC tech, check out the monome, an instrument that Imogen Heap played live on Letterman a couple of weeks ago.

If I may cater towards my generation, think of it like Pokemon. If you’ve started a website (such as the fantastic Gainesvillains.com), think of Google Analytics of your Pokedex. It checks who is using your website, who is leaving your website and who is actually converting to use your service.

For Example, Gainesvillains’ main hook is that they will be publishing a mixtape every week for download. With analytics they can easily tell who is coming to the site, who is commenting, who is subscribing to RSS feeds and, most importantly, who is downloading the mix tape.

SO, if you have a website, get cracking on using it otherwise you’ll be stuck in the dark while all of the pokemon trainers are out power-levelling their Lickitungs to beat the elite four.
…or something like that.

Yes I am talking about the Arcade Fire scoring the NFL commercial during the Super Bowl tonight.
Wake up, indeed.

I think what’s most telling is that none of my music snob friends were in the least bothered, myself included, which can all be attributed to Google.

In a Google age, there really can’t be music that is exclusive or niche. The idea that a “mass market” has imploded with the onset of internet is untrue, when in fact it’s grown exponentially.

How else does a small Canada based band on an North Carolina-based indie record label end up on the Super Bowl???

Now a days, the OPM runs usajobs.gov, a front page portal for almost all federal employment. New applicants don’t have to fill out forms by hand, mail in documents or even handle any form of hard text, everything is completely digital.

I personally am attempting to secure a job in the DC area, and with usajobs.gov going through another re-haul just days ago I am stoked that all of my time filling out forms for the most trivial of things on the internet has given me the skills to get through the employment process. For all you liberal arts graduates out there, you might want to throw your hat in with the digital dinosaurs in the government for a job.

Would you laugh about it and move on with your life?

Or would you buy the sambas ironically to keep the joke running?

Thus is the viral impact of Lady Gaga, which I personally will never understand, but it’s the truth.

For class, when we were handed the post it notes and charged with the task of creating value, all that I could think of was Lady Gaga to tap into that viral potential. I hope that we in class spend time to talk about just what makes a viral video so viral.

I personally am not sure, but here’s our best crack at virally promoting the Gainesvillains.

Quite viral, maybe?
_NICK

Most of all, though, we work hard because we are pushed every day to talk with our mouth full. What do I mean? Read on, digital frontiersman!

Interruptive Advertisement is Dead or Dying

With the possible exception of Hulu, a media outlet’s ability to withhold a product from you just long enough to shout an advertisement has come to an end thanks to lovely innovations such as Tivo and MP3 players.  Without this ability, advertising firms have had to tap into the “digital” realm of “social media”.  However, these areas are neither new or revolutionary and rely on age old human nature.

People Only Truly Trust Their Friends

For example, let’s say you go to a new Mexican restaurant for some delicious chicken fajitas and these fajitas are just TREMENDOUSLY GOOD. If you were so moved by the quality of the product, you would want to tell your friends to check out the restaurant as well, ideally returning with you so that you can share in glorious chicken fajitas with people whose company you enjoy.

This is the beating heart of advertising and the end goal of all major advertising firms. With the advent of web 2.0 it has stopped being the end goal and now has become the process. Rather than to eat your fajitas first, you now have the tools to tell your friends what you think of a product as you are consuming it. We have now become, constantly, homespun versions of Anthony Bourdain.

Advertisers Rely On You to Tweet

Or use your Facebook status, or text, tumblr, and microblog your opinion out there. Whether this is a good thing or bad thing is entirely up to debate. Take this simply as food for thought, and remember to talk with your mouth full for the good of the economy.