Technology may be blamed for the hyper speed and massive accessibility but Joe Public cannot be held responsible for shattering the credibility of sacred institutions.
In the USA, when your neighbor is out of work it is a slowdown, when your family member is added, it becomes recession and when you, too, join the same line then it surely becomes a depression. The unofficial employment in the USA is being claimed at 15-25 percent, while the economical turnaround seems a mirage; the closer you get the clearer becomes the reality, nothing but refractions. The Internet civilization toying with hyper communication is under tremendous pressure to find a quick online solution, while the blogging-nation along with instant punditry is trying hard to provide some warmth to the gasping economy. The USA midterm elections clearly point to an even more polarized citizenry, forcing a new posture towards an internal civil war of ideologies amongst the brightest minds form left and right but where the weapons are only the dumbest sound bites or silly tweets.
Is technology to blame for this downward spiral towards an intellectual void? Is it the wired citizenry in rage to change; is it the unemployed mobilizing free mediums and viral broadcasts splintering the votes and public opinion? Technology may be blamed for the hyper speed and massive accessibility but Joe Public cannot be held responsible for shattering the credibility of sacred institutions. However, it seems that technology now provides a halo to the enlightenment Joe Public, while truth like a messiah descends upon us.
The image of the west, public and corporate along with thousands of long established brands are in trouble while the image of the finest institution is on the block. The countdown to global image shifts is pointing to next couple of years when China would overtake America as the largest economy, at least based on purchase power parity, according to Conference Board of America. Is it that Americans are not aware of this tectonic shift or that they have no idea how to tackle this unstoppable change. Both questions seem odd. Americans all along have been the best front line trend forecasters and solution providers.
The deep silence and lack of real focused debate with action simply makes no sense. The global interactive voice of the Internet, currently the multibillion interconnected populace of the world, large enough to simply sneeze in sync will cause enough air displacement to create a small hurricane, shows deep concerns the way the entire world and its economy is headed. The possible second meltdown or the possibility of a new third war theater or both on the horizon concerns all. The advance broad base level complexity of issues requires massive interactive communication across the globe and this makes current communication technology the real thermometer for global opinion while the Internet itself becomes an intravenous drip for the exhausted nations.
Four new dance routines scheduled for the world stage
The Techno-Bhangra: When BRIC nations create their own local massive technology flood to boost their own populous to quickly become middle class in a hyper technology mode. In a world divided by population-rich emerging nations and experience-rich developed nations, the global image shifts toward population-rich nations would become hyper productive and further accelerate the tilt of global imbalance in their favor?
The War Tango: When wars appear to be the only logical solution for the developed nations and when developing countries appear to provide the most fertile grounds for such theatrics. At this point Internet becomes the real melting pot of global opinion, hot enough to sway global moods and trades creating unstoppable swing of forces? What will the experience rich nations of the west do at this stage after making all these technologies freely available to the world or should USA seek to push the 'Internet Kill Switch', now as a proposed bill, as a last minute national security device to control global techno-commerce shifts.
The Zorba Dance: When American-Anglo models based on QE2 become the new setting of Greece style meltdown in USA. With PIGS already teetering on the edge, would observing their outcome create a brand new landscape for the US and would it be a good turning point of sobriety and productivity or a major shut down of American lifestyle for a long time.
The Chicken Dance: IMF forecasting $10 trillion dollars needed for the developed nations to stay afloat in 2011. If money printing appears to be a better way than money generation than why not print $1000 trillion and let the chicken dance among all nations begin. The global financial wizardry of the old school is in sync with national monetary policies of the developed nations favoring QE2 models. The pragmatic punditry of the emerging economies is seeking brand new global banking and new financial models.
To summarize the complexity of this global crisis cannot be ignored, but neither the pain nor the agony it is causing the entire world. All of us are being directly affected, population-rich or experience-rich, with sharp or dull image, good or bad, we all have to raise our voices and share our opinions. Hark, the music is in the air; the dance floors are busy but take serious caution before picking the tune or the partner. What do you think?
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Naseem Javed, recognized world authority on image positioning and global naming complexities, founder of ABC Namebank, is currently helping corporations on ICANN's new gTLD cyber platforms and lecturing on cyber-branding.
