We are a World Lost in Transition
There was a fantastic universal sense that whatever we were doing was right, that we were winning.… And that, I think, was the handle—that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn’t need that. Our energy would simply prevail. There was no point in fighting—on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave.…
Hunter S. Thompson — Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
It was just last night as I was driving home. I had been to a meeting in the heart of Amsterdam. Meeting with the digital frontrunners of the online world in the Netherlands. Mingling with Social Media addicts such as myself. Talking about the old world of corporations and their jargon laden communication on the one hand. And the new world of startups, social media and rapid innovation. Our talks were fast. Hyped up. Enthusiastic. Fuck it, let’s do it.
It was already late and as usually happens on these long drives, my mind began to wander. Listening to business radio and pondering about the conversations I had, had; it suddenly hit me. The one word that so eloquently describes our current state. Transition.
As a copywriter I move around a lot of worlds. Being allowed to speak to the people doing the work in the dirt and the people in the soft chairs in the C-suite. As a Social Media addict and blogger I constantly move between the New World of Those That Get IT. And the corporate worlds of those that still cling to formal regulations concerning just about every inch of their company.
Earlier I wrote about this as the Old World and the New World clashing. A battle which is still to be decided. But pondering on our current mess I think it is something else. As the miles flew by the word Transition became an entity.
We are a world Lost in Transition.
What does it mean? To be in transition?
To be in transit is the act of passing over, across or through something.
Transition is the process of change from one form, state or place to another.
We are in transition from the Old Economy of More, More, More to the New Economy of Sharing is the new possession.
We are in transition from large corporations where you are safe and sound for the next thirty years to the worlds of startups and temporary projects where experts meet to deliver their thing. And then disband.
We are in transition from a world where everybody fits into the mold of education to the world where teenagers are farming bitcoins and who cares about their grades? They are entrepreneurs!
We are in transition from funding by banks to crowdfunding.
We are in transition from We Know it All to crowdsourcing.
We are in transition from fossil fuels to sustainable energy.
We are transition from a formal world to an informal world.
We are in transition from mass communication to social media being the new norm.
We are in transition from sending to dialog.
We are in transition.
We are stuck between worlds.
Just as Thompson describes in Fear and Loathing, those in the heart of the Revolution have the feeling that ‘Our Momentum will just Prevail. We will destroy the forces of Old and Evil.’
We will find our human voice in online communication, connect through dialog and develop new technologies that will not hurt the planet, but heal it.
We are changing over from the corporate form to the network society. And that transition is not smooth. It will not happen overnight and that is where most of our current battles are being fought. Every day. On every level.
Because the entrepreneurs that want to make a change run into local authorities and governments that put contrasting demands and legislation on them.
They can’t get their ideas off the ground, because not one bank out there will lend them the necessary capital to get momentum.
Preachers of Social Media see their loved means of informal communication forced into the regulations and restriction of the corporation. Or worse, sold to Marketing and Sales.
Those kids farming bitcoins will have to get their diploma’s, because that is how we do things around here. Education first, Entrepreneur later.
This current Limbo is causing a lot of frustration. Our world in transition is a frustrated world.
The Old World is saying: Not so fast!
The New World is saying: Why are you slowing me down?!
I hear it around me. I see the despair in people’s eyes. Why don’t you want this?
When I look around I personally get excited. So many great ideas. So much innovation. Moving at such a breakneck speed. I wish I was younger. I wish I had been taught how to program. I wish I had made the move to become a freelancer a lot earlier in my life.
We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave… I can see that.
When I look around I get sad. So much resistance. So many great ideas being destroyed because the Powers that Be are so afraid of change.
I hate to break it to you, but the transition is coming. We have our momentum. And we will continue…
Or will we be like Thompson? Will we look back at this time and ponder melancholically?
So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark—that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back.
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