Caring Winds in the Ocean of Social
As a result of the Industrial Revolution, people migrated to cities in search of employment, forming large, centralized communities. Then, we started to decentralize by moving out of close-knit neighborhoods into sprawling suburbia. People worked more and generally became busier trying to make money, spend money, and pay bills, as we transitioned to a consumer-based economy. The “porch-to-porch” sharing decreased proportionately. Simply, it became more difficult for communities, families, and friends to share in a decentralized environment. So, sharing was building demand for decades, like a beach ball held under water, ready to explode to the surface by some catalyst or mechanism. Facebook designed that mechanism. The sharing beach ball exploded to the surface with viral growth and landed on the surface in the Ocean of Social. We, as a race, have always been and will always be social. Sharing is at the top of our survival instincts. I suppose our brains are hard-wired to search for others to share with; to solve problems, to advance solutions, to be empathetic, to survive.
Like fish swimming in the Ocean of Social, we’ve witnessed the powerful rise of beach balls exploding to the surface, and we are impressed. We look up and see these beach balls floating above us. They make it easier to share. While gathering in the shadow of a beach ball, we socialize. However, are these floating beach balls being pushed by social winds that lack purpose? Are the beach balls floating aimlessly? Is the wind pushing us, as we stay in the shadow of the beach ball, into shallow waters of engagement?
There are dependencies on what motivates us to share with others at any given time, and there are patterns that seem to govern these dependencies, relating to how and why we are social. These patterns lead to designed mechanisms that release stored-up demand in the marketplace, again, like a beach ball held under water, ready to explode to the surface.
Mechanisms to facilitate purposeful sharing (i.e., collaboration) for people who care about something enough are already being developed for niche communities. Just like Facebook had its predecessors, collaboration platforms are being tested and used in niche communities. They are increasingly sharing to solve niche problems. Purposeful winds direct these beach balls towards deeper waters of interactions (actions, reactions, and transactions).
I believe that we are at the dawn of an era of collaboration as we’ve never seen before. We are at the dawn of caring enough to help each other survive better. The demand is increasing because we are becoming more aware that we are in this together, as one, and what is good for you is good for me. We are learning to sell “win-lose” and buy “win-win” business models! Say goodbye to sharing for sharing’s sake and say hello to sharing for caring’s sake.
