7/6/11

Quadrant Development in The Social Digital Age: How's It Going?

A social network diagramImage via Wikipedia
This article references the Integral Map Theory

I'll start with the questions because I have no answers:

How does our current landscape of social network technologies interact with the integral model? 

Are the quadrants balanced? I don't think the theory claims that all four quadrants expand or progress at the exact same rate. Looking at the new incarnations of networks and new technologies, I think it would benefit everyone to examine the phenomenon that is social media - through an Integral lens. 

Obviously , the physical capability to participate in the networks has grown tremendously, so the upper right is clearly expanding. This fact is evidenced by the smart phone you or your child is using. The physical hardware and processor speed enables the connections faster than ever. Also in the physical realm are communication satellites and digital cables webbing around the surface of the globe.

Social structures, or systems, can form and exist entirely in these interwebs. Relationships online are now very easy to create - usually around shared interests (which is a far more effective aggregator than traditional demographics will ever be, in my opinion) Now, humans are able to build relationships maintained by sharing mutual trust. This trust is displayed by propping up others (retweeting, klout+1, etc.) Respect can be gained by the way we treat other people's brands, personally or professionally. So clearly the expansion taking place in the lower right is tremendous.

I think we should pay close attention to what is, and has been, going on in the upper left. As I see it, our internal existence, our human spirit/conciousness, is actually rising to the challenge of keeping up with the expansion of the other quadrants. It may not be obvious, but I see it. Many minds are waking up to a sense of oneness, of interdependent "I-ams". Until only recently this was purely conceptual. And not very popular with Ronald Reagan. You would be considered a communist hippie for preaching about sharing one spirit and valuing togetherness. Interestingly, it turns out the hippies had the right idea.  As huge new networks are able to connect and interact, our internal conciousnesses are able to expand rapidly as well. What does that look like? Good question. We are watching the human spirit make large evolutionary leaps. The Temple on the Playa is a perfect example of wide reaching spiritual expression. 

What remains is the collective internal, the lower left. Our moral development. Our shouldn'ts and shoulds. How do we treat each other? How we treat members of our group. Do we hide behind anonymous commenting in order to hurt others with a different view? How are bad guys using the internet? Do we have a responsibility to crowd-source our morality in the digital age? Good question.



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