Communication Changes Consciousness

Or What I’ve Discovered About Twitter

This is my response to @VenessaMiemis who retweeted the following from @ekolsky ‘spread the word: Monday 12/21, write and post “What I’ve discovered about Twitter” – tag it #MonTwit (please RT)’

140 characters is a small space in which to generate resonance. Each tweet is like a seed being swept along a rushing stream. Some find fertile soil in which to germinate, unfold, hybridize and grow into new patterns in our minds.

Without the rest of the internet Twitter would not be so compelling. The key is that behind those 140 characters lies a vast repository of information, so that each tweet becomes a gateway into that illuminated store of knowledge.

The second key is that because of the brevity of the form, the fast, interwoven nature of the stream challenges us to create new connections in our minds. Ideas seem more malleable, fluid and promiscuous. They interbreed and create new form. How is global warming connected to sanitation in Africa. How can our knowledge on innovation be applied to slow down species extinction?  How can we apply design thinking to create a society that works for all?

A rich tapestry of collective meaning is thus collaboratively woven, which allows us to enhance our shared understanding of the whole.

The nature of our communication shifts our collective consciousness. From manuscript to book to television to internet, human consciousness has been driven by the changing nature of our information flow.

How is consciousness changing now as a result of it all?