Revolution of Knowledge Flow

Communication Moves from Channels to Networks

The advent of the Internet in the 1990s was the beginning of a revolution of modern times.  It has moved us from using ‘channels' of communication to developing the flow of communication through 'webs and networks'.  It has moved us from stock piling knowledge to realising that the movement of knowledge within networks is most useful.

At first the Internet was seen as a revolution in the new way that businesses could market their goods and reach out to global audiences through these new widespread networks of communication. But the REAL revolution was not so much about organisations stretching out to reach consumers in new ways but about consumers and people using the Internet to reach out and connect with one another in increasing new ways.

Technology Fuels Developments

The ‘knowledge’ or ‘internet’ revolution has been fuelled by new advances in communication and collaborative technologies that facilitate social connections.  These changes continue to transform our lives and can leave us feeling overwhelmed.  We should continue to remind ourselves that the changes that have taken place have done so at great speed. We must take heart in that it takes time to make such adjustments.

We humans are a species that have an innate drive to live in groups and to work together for common goals. We are social by nature.  We can take heart that this push of social media is not about the technology but about our natural human tendency to be social. We are evolving from a species that socialises and collaborates face-to-face to one that can now also extend this to global and virtual platforms.

References

Gossieaux, F., & Moran, E. (2010) The Hyper-Social Organization. New York: McGraw Hill.