The way we connect to each other can (and does) change, thanks to technological advances and cultural shifts. But one thing that doesn’t change is its importance. The networks that we form with other people are the foundation of our social structure, and a huge part of what gives meaning to our lives. So it is endlessly fascinating to watch these networks grow and evolve, fulfilling basic human needs within an ever-changing context.
Here are some of the ways we’ve explored the future of communities here at Cosmic Revolutions.
image: stockxchange
Tribalism Returns as an Essential Tool of the Information Age
Technology has given us all access to a flood of information, more than we could possibly process. How do we deal with this, and find the things that are both true and important? It turns out that after a century-long hiatus, communities are once again becoming a key system for processing information and shaping our worldview. Check the article to learn why.
Physical books will soon go the way of parchment scrolls and vinyl records. What does this mean for the library, a venerable cultural institution whose nominal reason for being is to store books? I think they’ll continue to play a major role in building and shaping our communities, and here are a bunch of reasons why.
The digital universe is a synthetic construct, a parallel dimension whose borders expand with every new bit of data or content that gets generated. And where does that dimension get its structure? How do all its different pieces get linked together, and how does it get arranged in a way that generates meaning? The short answer is, you do all that. Read the article to find out how.
NYC Neighborhoods, Mapped by Social Media
The rise of mobile social networking has given us a whole new way to analyze large-scale human behavior, especially in cities. Check out this post to learn more about an innovative software experiment that combines social media with real-world geography to map dynamic, living neighborhoods.
Boston’s Fueling the Future of Robotics, Hacking and Community
The Artisan’s Asylum is a well-equipped “hackerspace” in Boston – a giant studio where people can come together to make and modify stuff, whether it’s art, bicycles or robots. It offers a lot of shared equipment and materials that individuals wouldn’t have access to. But more importantly, it brings these people together under one roof to share knowledge, inspiration and encouragement with one another – it’s a community of makers. Click the link above to read more.
Technology: Lonely Bubble, or Networked Nirvana?
It’s a timeless question, one that’s been asked since the very dawn of the information age, or perhaps even the industrial age: Are all our new technological innovations bringing us together like never before? Or are they breaking apart our communities and turning us all into hermits? Explore both sides of the issue in this article, then add your own opinion in the comment box.
Cosmic Revolutions 