social media observations

A single thought

One thought fills immensity. ~ William Blake

Humanity has the technology AND the psychic receptivity to collectively be aware of a single thought. This moment, when it first occurs, may go by unannounced BUT then, when successive occurences take place, Humanity will sit straight up, wide awake to the wonder AND danger of such a possibility! These SINGLE THOUGHTS, when expressed, will ripple through the texture of human consciousness and effect vast and irrevokable change. Those who post these thoughts, whether in the form of video, music, image or text may be astounded with the volume of response BUT a kind of responsibility that befits a poet-king/queen will come upon him/her/them.

In an age of viral videos, images and quotes, it is not too inflated to make this statement. The coming SINGLE THOUGHTS that will ripple through both conscious and subconscious fabrics of human thought will be the unifying pre-cursors to end-games in multiple arenas. Falling fences will be tipped over as a result of these thoughts and entire forms that existed for centuries may be transformed overnight.

Archetypal Psychology has much to say that applies in this area. James Hillman writes that the fundamental mistake in Western culture is a loss of soul, which is further identified with a loss of images and the imaginal sense. The result has been an intensification of subjectivity, showing…in a Western consciousness which has lost its relation with death and the underworld (Hillman, Archetypal Psychology).

Hillman calls for, and predicts, a re-animation of “things” by means of metaphor, which “gives sense and passion to insensate things”. He writes that the metaphorical perspective “revisions world phenomena as images, finding sense and passion where the Cartesian mind sees the mere extension of de-souled insensate objects (Hillman, Archetypal Psychology).

Our movement into image, both still and moving, has increased exponentially with YouTube receiving scores of billions of individual downloads per month in the United States alone, as an example. As Google TV comes onto the scene, the potential for unknown and perennial philosophies to emerge into open human consciousness will precipitate a rapid evolution of the collective human consciousness, which will in turn cause a greater receptivity to more complex and powerful ideas. Even as wide swaths of human societal structure fall down and disintegrate, the collective consciousness will be such that Humanity as a whole will absorb such a transition with grace and un-precedented creativity. The story of the imaginal cells within the process of metamorphosis is an image of this type of transition.

Imagining, composing, drawing, filming YOUR single thought that would ripple through the social fabric of the internet is a VITAL activity for individuals in ALL disciplines and verticals. It is a CENTRAL PLANET-SAVING activity in our times. To repeat, discovering your gift for humanity IS a CENTRAL PLANET-SAVING activity in our times.

Firmly within a renaissance of expression

The logos of the soul, psychology, implies the act of traveling the soul’s labyrinth in which we can never go deep enough. ~ James Hillman

Social networks are images of this labyrinth and virtual activities are just a fraction of the myriad activities occuring within the intangible fabric of the collective human psyche. Humanity has increasing evidence through the sheer volume of content pumping through social networks of the vastness of the imagination and the soul. The physical size of our Earth is minute compared to the endless worlds contained within the human psyche. Even spending one day searching various videos, photos, songs and events, one may find incredible variety. We ARE firmly within a renaissance of expression.

THE ADVENT OF GOOGLE TV, as one example, opens a fantastic new territory for ANYONE to make money from advertising RELATED to their video content. The major studios ought to run contests in which the world votes who gets to use their equipment to make movies, based upon viewership on Google TV and YouTube. The same goes for music. Humanity IS running itself, thanks to the fantastic inventions now in place for content distribution and collaboration.

It remains to be seen what humanity will orient around. Now that we have Google TV, LinkedIn, GIVEO and Facebook, a catastrophe like the BP Oil spill could be cleared up very quickly simply by harnessing the precision of these tools to (a) spread awareness, (b) identify the experts best suited to solve the issue, (c) garner support for getting the clean-up paid for and (d) following up with prizes and celebration!

THE TABLET REVOLUTION: In the coming 12 months, consumers will see a rapid acceleration in content for both Kindle-type and iPad-type tablets BUT iPad-type platforms will see the fastest climb due to multi-valent, holographic experience possibilities.

What is a holographic experience in the context of tablets and the social fabric of the internet? An example of such an experience in the social fabric of the internet could be as follows: Every tweet and Facebook status update is a blog post title (WordPress, Blogger, Posterous, Tumblr), every blog post a chapter in a digital book (eBook) populated by media, including (but not limited to), photos (Flickr), video (YouTube), music (Last.fm), and footnotes (Slideshare), every digital book a community (Ning), every community contains the full range of archetypal characters (The Conversation Prism), and each of those characters introduces your material to their tribes through tweets, blog posts, etc.

Simply put: BOOKS, AUTHORS, FILMS AND SONGS ARE COMMUNITIES.

The FUTURE OF BOOKS involves dynamic, interactive communities oriented around text as a jumping-off point into worlds upon worlds, all searchable, all monitorable, all monetizable. For examples of how this is true spend an hour reading about the fabulous successes (and failures, which often are the best pre-cursors to success).

So, what does it take to develop such a community? Content, an audience, and the appropriate networks within the social fabric of the internet. Engage in the following important steps for proper social business integration. At each stage, employ appropriate Researchers (Analysts), Producers (Graphic Artists + Writers), Conversationalists/Community Managers (Brand Ambassadors) and Problem-Solvers (Strategists/Techies/Programmers).

The best strategic alliances

“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly.”- Lao Tzu

Some of the best strategic alliances are between a Critic and a Creative. The Critic drives the Creative to higher heights, the Creative gives the Critic his content for analysis and, really, the healing of a personal, and often collective, wound. In business, a culture’s wounds offer the largest sources for financial reward AND a positive giving-back: the essence of cause-related marketing.

It is said that the Creative invented the airplane, while the Critic invented the parachute. There are seasons for transcendence and seasons for grounding. In both actions, one needs the Critic and the Creative. Both are relentless beings made of the same stuff in important slices of their personalities. There is an old proverb about men sharpening one another like iron on iron.

Humanity has NO time left for people to figure out how profitable HUMANITY-SAVING VENTURES will be for their own Parea (Tribe) AND then shop those around. That is WHY we are seeing so much giving happening. Time is perceived by many as being short BUT for those who have found their tribe and their gift, these are the BEST DAYS to be alive. Everything is becoming visible before our eyes, everything is opening in the transparent eco-system of social networks.

And yet, as all of this revealing is going on, there seems to be a realization by many of what Carl Jung meant by the unconscious taking up far more of human experience than consciousness. Humanity is currently mapping its consciousness through the building of countless social networks and circles. This consciousness is a jumping off point for diving into the depths of the psyche…into the unconscious itself. And it is the complexes, archetypes and currents within an individual, communal and the collective unconscious that animate human thought, speech and action.

Identifying one’s archetypes and listening to the needs of those archetypes is just a first step in facilitating the design and assembly of useful social communities and tools. The next step involves a kind of deep sea exploration of what has not been spoken of and NEEDS speaking of in times such as these: the unconscious motivators/animators that, once brought into the light, no longer rule us and can be used by humans for solving the problems these self-same animators caused.

Look within to find the reason for what is without.

THE CYCLE OF AWARENESS IN THE SOCIAL FABRIC OF THE INTERNET (REDUCED)

THE CYCLE OF AWARENESS IN THE SOCIAL FABRIC OF THE INTERNET (REDUCED):

Every tweet (Twitter) and Facebook (Facebook) status update is a blog post title (WordPress, Blogger, Posterous, Tumblr), every blog post a chapter in a digital book (iBook) populated by media, including (but not limited to), photos (Flickr), video (YouTube), music (Last.fm), and footnotes (Slideshare), every digital book a community (Ning), every community contains the full range of archetypal characters (The Conversation Prism), and each of those characters introduces your material to their tribes through tweets, blog posts, etc.

And ALL of this is trackable, monitor-able and monetize-able!