The power of knowledge and linked data

When tying many of my blogs together, there are the common threads of knowledge, transparency, knowledge, discernment, knowledge, time, knowledge, technology, knowledge, information, knowledge, reputation, knowledge, and connectedness.  For knowledge there needs to be information.  The more information we contribute to this "single global machine that we are constructing" (Kelly, 2007), the more knowledge there will be in this think tank.  This leads to making what seems impossible possible.  In 2007, when Kevin Kelly gave his TEDTalk, the web was using 5% of global electricity and almost the same number of links as synapses in one human brain (55 trillion links/synapses).  By 2040, he surmised that the web would exceed humanity in processing power.  That is exciting on so many levels.  The plethora of information we will continue to have available to us, along with the resources our children and grandchildren will have, facilitates endless dreaming and creativity.  The key, just as I have discussed in previous blogs, is taking the time ourselves to learn and to teach them healthy boundaries and to be able to discern what is true.

In 1993 and 1994 AT&T produced an ad campaign entitled "You Will".  There were many things presented that seemed impossible at that time.  Here are some of the things they asked:
1.  Have you ever borrowed a book from thousands of miles away?  We now have Amazon and Kindles.
2.  Have you ever crossed the country without stopping for directions?  We now have GPS.
3.  Have you ever sent someone a fax from the beach?  Now we do.
4.  Have you ever bought concert tickets from a cash machine?  Yes!
5.  Have you ever tucked your baby in from a phone booth?  We now have Facetime.
6.  Have you ever opened doors with the sound of your voice?  We now have voice activated smart homes.
7.  Have you ever attended a meeting barefooted?  We now have video conferencing.
8.  Have you ever watched a movie the minute you wanted to?  We now have DVR.
9.  Have you ever learned special things from far away places?  We can now attend college online.
10.  Have you ever put your heads together when you're not together?  Example:  Doctors can now be in a locker room with an injured athlete and video conference doctors at the hospital and digitally send x-rays to discuss what needs to be done.
11.  Have you ever gotten a phone call on your wrist? 
12.  Have you ever had a classmate who's thousands of miles away?  Again, we have online schooling.
13.  Have you ever conducted business in a language you don't understand?  There are programs that translate as you are typing/speaking.

14.  Have you ever kept an eye on your home when you're not at home?  We now have the ability to control our lights, internal temperature, security system, garage door, and many other aspects of our home from our smart phone.

Twenty years ago, many of these things seemed impossible.  However, many people and companies had a vision.  In these ads, AT&T answered every question with "YOU WILL".  They had vision and they were confident.  Because of technological advances and data being linked, many of these aforementioned dreams have become reality.  In his TEDTalk, Tim Berners-Lee states, "The more things you have to link together the more powerful it is".  An analogy to this would be the root system of a plant.  The more roots it has linked to it, the more it is fed and the stronger it becomes.  When data is linked to something, it turns into information that can be used.  Dreams can then begin sprouting.  Kevin Kelly posits, "We will become completely co-dependent upon the web."  Joe Touch, director at the Information Sciences Institute USC, says, "The Web will be a seamless part of how we live our everyday lives."  Everything is feeding into the Web.  It is the most reliable machine ever made because it has run uninterrupted and has never crashed. This is why we need to realize our ideas are important and necessary to invest into the world of knowledge.  One idea may seem irrelevant.  However, when linked with other ideas and data, it can help make a dream reality.

There is another side to this coin.  The Internet and web is also making it easier for people to seek out only the news and information that entertains them and confirms their own values.  This is where we cannot become lazy in our search for knowledge, truth, and discernment.  We need to understand that more and more uninformed individuals with a group-think, group-speak, and mob mentality are influencing others to the detriment of standard of living and effective government.  Another factor that technology companies need to seriously take into consideration regarding their image and community/global involvement is not leaving the undeveloped nations and lower income groups behind.  In one of my previous blogs, I discussed Ethan Zuckerman and the group in which he is involved, Global Voices.  They travel the world with the goal of getting us out of our filter bubbles and getting us interested in other "flocks" and truly conversing globally.  We don't simply need the ideas of wealthy, Caucasian Americans.  Knowledge pertains to all cultures, all races, all income levels, all religions, all languages, and all ages.  Inequality is enabled and amplified via networked transactions that benefit smaller segments of the global population. The idea of comprehensive global connectivity and being able to hear the voices and ideas of people everywhere is exciting!  The children in Madagascar have a voice and wonderful ideas and dreams that need to be heard and implemented into the world of linked data.  People in countries that are limited by their government regarding Internet usage and dissemination such as Turkmenistan, Vietnam, Tunisia, Syria, People's Republic of China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Burma, and North Korea have amazing ideas that need to have a voice and be part of dreams.  Having the world share in their dreams and help make them a reality seems impossible to them now.  We can ask them "have you ever" about many things and, with optimism, reply "YOU WILL!"