I recently wrote a post similar to this topic after watching the movie *Avatar*.

Check it out: http://antwondavis.com/2009/12/25/what-i-experienced-after-watching-avatar/

Great post by the way.

Even when we belong to radical groups we usually conform to their behaviour.

I guess the question/answer would be to be true to oneself without having to conform to anything or anybody.

kk

The fact things are going more online is not really relevant. We all look for a common bond in everything we do. BBS’s back in the day are no different than “social” sites of today.

To poster Ken,think organized chaos, not chaos.

Of course, there’s also potential for utter chaos, a chthonic disaster. So caution may well be advised. The question remains – how to synthesize individual experience with the web’s mainstreaming.

There’s a difference between being civil and going along with what everyone else is thinking and that’s what I think Julien is getting at here.

I think it’s very important to maintain close contact with people outside of your industry. I don’t mean just reading their blogs or following them on Twitter. In fact, if you work in online marketing, you need to find people who aren’t on Twitter (here’s a hint: that’s most people). I see it everytime I’m at a conference: there are people who are otherwise terribly intelligent in that field who have no idea how people outside of the field think–and that’s a huge problem when it’s your job to speak to/with them.

I’m hearing you say that despite being the great expert that you are (supposed to be?), you realize you don’t “get it” . . . either.

It occurs to me that in doing all the things that those of us in YOUR self-selecting community are doing regular, we don’t have a real plan at all. Yikes!

Err . . . or maybe that’s OK. I think it’s called “life”

Jeff Yablon
President & CEO
Answer Guy and Virtual VIP Computer Support, Business Change Coaching and Virtual Assistant Services

Answer Guy and Virtual VIP on Twitter

Firstly, the removal of the physical and some of the sensory elements of social interactions online.

Secondly, the increased ability to control our online persona(s).

Although this self-styling may result in a stifling of certain aspects of our personalities, I’d argue that it can also be a positive force, allowing us the freedom to be creative and radical without the social consequences that we might expect in the physical world.

Stepping out of these group dynamics first requires the awareness that this is the case. Thanks for spreading that word with this post. Paradoxically, those who manage to articulate heretical ideas and build a following behind them start the same dynamic they attempted to leave behind. Like I said, it’s only natural…

Boy, that one should keep me thinking well into the New Year. One of those 52 books wasn’t by Bertrand Russell was it?

Anyway in answer to your question, it is not the ideas of others that should excite us but those of our own we have yet to discover. We drive what is acceptable, like the use of language;), as much as driving how much and what we discover. Radical ideas are what drive discovery, unacceptable states are what lead to reformation.

Instead of trying to copy or conform we should always be looking to change and challenge. Take the best bits from others and build on them to create a new Twitter, Facebook or even blogging technology that nobody has yet discovered.

Do this with passion and you know the end result…

Happy New Year
Sean

Sometimes I do feel challenged in fulfilling the expectations of tone and content, so I spice it up. On top of that, radical changes every now and then filled in by steady evolutions of sources of information, inspiration, and interests help to keep me from killing myself due to boredom or frustration.

What you see in the democratized world are cheap versions of everybody else. Versions of people that only exist to get along with everybody else.

I’m trying to digest your message as best I can. A close friend of mine would always say it’s all a symptom of these people’s need for external validation. Society doesn’t need you to get along with it. I mean, as an influencer you would expect that you could do whatever you want, and at least a small margin of your followers would journey with you through it all.

Yes, we internalize the rules. Even when the rules state that there are no rules.

Looking forward to seeing you (again, finally – it’s only been since Sx2008!!) at 3T in Vancouver!

As in – if you play the game by the rules you’re going to lose

You have to find a way to live on your own terms – that’s all that matters. That’s why my company is called Free Spirits Ltd.

Well that’s my opinion at least

You’re the author of a best-selling book. You’re supposed to tell us what to think (just kidding).

I don’t know about the hinterland ideas. I sometimes have them and when I express them, they usually get shot down. Also when you get older, there’s an invisible force that can creep in and make you more timid to express radical ideas. I hate that. I hate when I get timid.

In one of my work contracts, I administer arts granting programs (I pull together a jury and work with the funder to present all the applications for review and approval or rejection).

My “hinterland idea” is to live tweet at the meetings what all the jurors are saying about each application. That way, it’s totally transparent. Alas, this idea was soundly squashed.

It’s fear that kills hinterland ideas from seeing the light of day. Too bad.

I think it’s more a matter of framing – of choosing our audience. Much as there are things we wouldn’t say at the dinner table as a child, there are things we don’t say in Twitter.

The audience, the time, the place, and the way the idea are framed are chosen.

There are some ideas which are spurred by certain company, and some that only arrive when we are alone. It’s important then that we don’t spend all of our time in the crowd both online and at home. It’s important to choose our company wisely.

We have new opportunities to be in the company of other people almost all of the time, through social media, but the same old principles apply.

“I don’t know what those ideas are. Do you?”

I don’t either. But I’m curious to think of them. I suppose that it’s those men in women who aren’t afraid to think outside the box who end up developing the products and services that become so popular.

This is a great article. It’s very thought provoking.

Or maybe we can do a lot of drugs and get fucked outta our wits.

Thoughtful post.