So, it's interesting, this significant and life-alterating "shift" that we're in, right now. I've shared, in previous blog entries, my impression that the opening years of a new century tend to continue the aspects of the last 30 or so years of the previous century, at least on the surface. The reality of the new era isn't immediately evident, with the turn of a page on the wall calendar! It seemed that 9/11 signalled some sort of change, and yet the daily to and fro, after that shock that we were vulnerable, continued the refrain of "same old/same old". Hitting us in the pocketbook caught our attention, fair and square. The credit crunch/subprime meltdown, the housing bubble/crash, the stock market collapse/losses, and the fear about the insecurity of paper money (all that bailout printing press currency, which continues) -- suddenly we all got it! It's not biz as usual! Perhaps it was all four pillars at once, either toppling or shuddering, that caught our attention? So, this is the 21st Century, the real beginning, not just the calendar recognition. The Information Age. The moment when the content provider has the power position, not the technician. Does that mean we're moving into the Age of the Artist? The internet is the vehicle of information dissemination. It has erased time and geography. The early digital versions, such as websites, with static billboard style information, have been replaced by dynamic and consumer centric options such as Facebook and Twitter. I'm not sure that the label "social media" really explains the power of Twitter. Look at the events in Iran, in the past few days. Individuals, with cell phone camera/video shots, and access to Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, have been keeping the world apprised of revolutionary events. Suddenly, those involved in events no longer need the interpretive function of the "expert" (in this case, mainstream media reporters). So. No need for any "screen" between the event and the onlooker. No need for any interpreter or "expert voice" to comment on an event/an occurrence. Everything evenly weighted, immediate, the experiencer also the reporter, with the point of view of the moment. Mmmm...what about the editing function? Does the onlooker/the recipient know how to rate, to assess validity? The point of the 21st Century, then, is that there is no protective element between the experience and the one experiencing? No skin between the cellular level and the atmosphere? This is definitely not "biz as usual" on any level. Your thoughts? Do you Twitter?