Throughout history the role of new technology has always been instrumental towards developing a global community. From cave paintings, to newspapers, to the internet: every major technological breakthrough since the beginning of history has assisted in merging communities, communicating cultures, and dispersing information. Since the late 20th century, however, that process has been exponentially expedited.

Global community, n. — (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) the people or nations of the world, considered as being closely connected by modern telecommunications and as being economically, socially, and politically interdependent

Before proceeding, I will further delve into the ubiquitous contemporary term that is a ‘global community’. A global community is synonymous with a society in which anyone, regardless of location, ethnicity, language, or religion can connect with anyone else. I am, of course, not the only person to disseminate this concept, there has been (and will be) many others.

Star Trek, for instance, is modelled on the idea that the world came together as a single community. In the fantasy series, when mankind made first contact with an alien race, and realized that they were not alone in the universe, it caused an upheaval of old ideas and “brought the human race together in a way no one thought possible.” Transitioning into reality, TicTalking is an app designed to connect people based on interests, allowing them to transcend many of the aforementioned boundaries of dialectic capabilities and geographic situation. Thus, a global community is not by any means an innovative concept in 2016, but for the first time, perhaps an attainable one.

The specific point in which world connectivity began its rise to daily prominence is perhaps unclear. However, it would be well founded to designate the origins of its global manifestation to the invention and implementation of the internet. The internet has become a vessel to share ideas, connect with people, and discover new things all across the globe. The internet gave rise to social media, which has consequently become an essential facet of our lives. Social media is the primary tool through which each global citizen is bestowed a voice. Social media platforms offer as a means of culminating one’s own virtual portfolio of ideas, comments, and opinions. As the rate of technological innovation continues to climb higher and higher, we can expect developments towards a global community to climb alongside it. I won’t pretend to know exactly what the future holds, but what I can say, with a considerable amount of certainty, is that we will be seeing the world get smaller and smaller (as populations paradoxically continue to multiply) and maybe we will see a global community in our lifetime.

Torsten Schultz

Edited by: Aleya Dwivedi

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Millennials love immediacy. And on top of that millennials love idealism.

At a tech event I was recently at I wrote down a quote someone advocated regarding eco-villages (cliché I know). When referring to this generation he affirmed that we are given a mantle of possibility, but with a tremendous responsibility. I reckon that many would conclude this responsibility to be perceived as a cure for cancer or some other medical or astrophysical advancement. Sure these scientific advancements are necessary for humanity to thrive, however, less regarded and inconceivably under appreciated are the forms of sociological communication. This in itself is a form of art and human advancement.

In 1863 Charles Baudelaire disseminated the concept of the artist as a flaneur. A flaneur drew subject matter for his/her work as, in short, as a fly on the wall. He or she was chiefly concerned with painting modern society and life. Of course this was a key ideology of the impressionists of this era, and strayed far from the previously championed mythological and biblical portrayals in academic art. Nonetheless, the concept of a flaneur stands as a testament to history and the epoch in which any given work of art was produced. Today, for example, we look at a simple urn from the 9th century as a work of art, which may have in its hey day have just been a mundane object of storage. Likewise, today we do not necessarily see mundane objects or more specifically, documentations of social media as art, or perhaps not yet.

It would be astute to render social media as a form of art. After all, it accurately summates and self-curates the contemporary time and place of the 21st century. This includes its happenings/current events, code of conduct, and progress as a people. Posts correlate to a form of self expression. In the age of social media; however, millennials are designated the burden of responsibility through comparison. Of course in this day and age the most successful being is no longer the one with the biggest stick or the strongest biceps, but instead is the one with the greatest self-awareness and exhibitionism. Those who can curate their life most attractively can garner abundant accomplishment. Regardless of personal victories, there will always be someone on your feed with a greater success. Though perhaps the day of greatest opportunity is upon us, there is also correspondingly the greatest expectation to achieve greatness. In an age where everyone’s opinions are not only valid but exceedingly ubiquitous, it is an art to have one’s own content elevated above the fray, given the equal playing field that history has perhaps never seen before. The need for immediate success is kept in check by immediate failure. If within a day a photo posted to Instagram exceeds no more than ten likes and zero comments is it considered a failure? The desire for immediate gratification is a large component of contemporary society, and representative largely of this generation. Merging the need for immediacy in the present with the idealism of the future (regarding what can possibly amount from a single posting), it is easy to view media communication as a form of art if not a game of power.

Missing from this vicious cycle of personal promotion against the backdrop of technology is the connection and gratification derived from interpersonal relationships. The very pillars social media is built on ironically is absent from user activity. Far too often users of social media — regardless of the platform, are chiefly concerned by their own narcissistic intentions of engagement and attention (for whatever that might be). Within the present online world; a wealth of likes, comments, or upvotes trump an outreach to connect or to further explore one’s own interests. This is largely due to an inherent hesitation for the potential of mockery or judgment for sharing one’s deeper being online. This undoubtedly leads to a shameless promotion of the aforementioned #ElevateTheConversation. If my posts (among everyone else’s) truly are to be merited with the designation of ‘art’, then I would be far more mindful of the content, message, and purpose of my activity on social media. If it is to encapsulate and delineate an era, without being existentially nihilistic, humanity would be shrewd to adapt social media usage to mirror the idealistic future we look towards achieving. Or rather to properly employ the mantle of opportunity that is social media’s global connectivity. But that’s just one Flaneur’s perspective.

Aleya Dwivedi

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Perhaps you have yet to encounter #ElevateTheConversation as the ‘viral’ tagline of our nascent app-based platform. For those 23 of you out there that have, (hi mom) and those of you who are just now becoming enthralled by the concept; what does elevate the conversation actually mean? We can all put two and two together to realize that the line is not likely referring to mid-flight banter, but instead communicates thoughtful topics which would likely not be covered in a grocery store run in, an awkward elevator ride, or perhaps not even in ‘140 characters’…

TicTalking is seeking to fester conversations that genuinely captivate users to become engaged with a specific topic of interest. Yes, we all have our guilty pleasures and at times want to know if Kim Kardashian or Beyoncé wore it best, but those are not the topics that society can ‘profile’ a person by. What we at TicTalking want to know is everyone’s REAL interests and passions. All too often our friends and family members don’t exactly share the same passion for ancient Roman military strategy or desire to learn to play the lute. This is where TicTalking comes into play; interests and conversations should not be restrained to a specific geographic situation or linguistic abilities. If you have a passion, it’s worth talking about. TicTalking allows users to search the globe for likeminded individuals who share the same interest, and with real time in-app translation allows people from all facets of the world to share their opinions, experiences, and dreams with one another, transcending surface level interaction or ‘small talk’.

This is not to be confused however with highbrow intellectual jargon — unless that’s your thing. ‘Elevated conversations’ must not be misinterpreted as supercilious; we are not attempting to cater exclusively to persons of scholarly merit or members of Mensa. Alternatively, TicTalking acts as a universal discovery tool for anyone with interests (so pretty well everyone) to open discussions on interest based topics which likely would have not taken place previously. Having, myself, recently delved into a conversation in the app regarding “The World Through a National Geographic Photographer’s Lens,” the conversation quickly escalated to convene around the question of what truly constructs a ‘great photograph’. This abstracted query sanctioned international responses examining the validity of new age Instagram photographers, photography as art, and the journalistic properties of the medium. In the midst of a repartee with a woman from China, a fellow from Mexico, and another fellow from South Africa; while we all attempted to define a practice of art, I realized that this was the illusive elevated conversation notably absent from my previous online or social media presence. Perhaps the very basis of a global audience allows, or rather forces users to look at the bigger picture behind stories and interests.

Another conversation I was recently active in, explored the longstanding cultural tradition of Spanish bullfighting. The conversation was initiated by an article unearthing the recent death of a matador during a bullfight — the first death of a matador in over thirty years. The conundrum of cultural sensitivity against animal rights brought about an overarching discussion of whether historical practices and rituals justified the ‘parading of death’ or if it was just plain wrong. If it was just plain wrong, who are we to be the judges of such a matter. The responses from TicTalking users around the globe were all thoughtful and enlightening, but each person’s opinion, as polarizing as they were, only continued to engage and #ElevateTheConversation.

- Aleya Dwivedi

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Technology has had a very profound effect on human relationships. At face value, we see families at the dinner table with their noses in their cell phones, people trying to get the most glamorous angle for their Instagram photo, and coffee-shop goers on laptops instead chatting with one another. However when we dig a little deeper, we also see families having face-to-face conversations from across the globe, friends updated in real-time with beautiful adventure photo galleries, and lives enriched because it is no longer necessary to work in a cubicle, thus we are able to spend more time with loved ones and less time commuting.

There are two sides to every story; we should begin exploring the version where relationships flourish through technology. There are so many ways in which this occurs: dating apps, professional connections, and newsfeeds of friends’ activities and opinions. Until very recently, however, there has been a discrepancy in communicating the benefits of social technologies — bringing cultures together. TicTalking is the first app that specifically focuses on connecting people from all over the world based on their common interests.

Imagine a world with no language barriers, where people see one another for his or her personality. That world is growing within TicTalking. Relationships are being developed that not only enrich the lives of individuals, but help to bridge cultural divides. With TicTalking, users can browse interesting stories and understand people from all different backgrounds and cultures, engaging in insightful conversations. These types of relationships are crucial in the development of a more empathic world. These types of relationships create more informed global citizens and promote peace.

Let’s dig deeper into the influence of technology on relationships and see it for its potential. Utilizing tools like TicTalking can help our relationships flourish into international, intercultural perspectives, and ultimately, a more peaceful world.

Chelsea Glaser

Chelsea is a new addition to TicTalking’s Content Curation team. She is a writer with a background in sustainable development, and is researching happiness in communities. She brings her views and passions to elevate awareness throughout the team and the app.

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A mobile app designed to connect interesting people around the world.

TicTalking translates multiple languages in real-time, around a common interest for a global understanding.

Explore, discover and connect with people and communities based on your unique interests.

Why use TicTalking?

TicTalking features interactive conversation bubbles connecting users based on their passions and opinions — building more meaningful conversations.

• Use TicTalking for a digital travel experience. Discover like-minded people, conversations and communities on the GeoGlobe Interface. A whole new world to explore, curated by your unique interests.
• Talk to anyone in any language. Surpass dialectic and geographic barriers. Real conversations, connecting you with interesting people around the world.
• Find your daily match. The person you didn’t know you would meet, the conversation you didn’t know existed and the connection you always wanted.

People, Conversations, and Communities based on your personal interests.

How to start TicTalking?

The app is tailored for you based on what you love.

Download, choose your interests, and start TicTalking.

Find TicTalking on the Google PlayStore or the iOS AppStore and start connecting with an entire new world of possibilities.

Explore the world through your interests and rally around your passions through the many communities within the app. If one isn’t there already, you have the power to create and curate your own. It doesn’t matter if you are trying to help change the world or share how your last 5km run went — there’s a community and/or conversation waiting for you.

Integrated and automatic language translation enables seamless connection between people regardless of language or location — no longer are people isolated based on linguistic or geographic barriers.

A world of digital travel. Our Story is a story of connection. It is our mission to Connect Interesting People Everywhere. TicTalking is about discovery, connectivity and hope. Human curiosity drives our need to connect with others. Multi-language translation capabilities around a common interest — for a global understanding.

Who are we?

Based out of Victoria, BC on the sunny west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada; TicTalking was conceived by visionary founder Doug Campbell in 2013 through his desire to connect. Having pen-pals as a kid, global connectivity was always an important facet of his being. Doug saw the potential to merge technological capabilities with interest based optimism to facilitate connections with ‘people you didn’t know you wanted to know’ and in the process create what he refers to as Digital Empathy.

Features:

• 3-D News Feed: Our game-like interface allows for users to visualize the tangibility of the international connections and conversations they are making within the app.
• Communities: The TicTalking Community feature allows influencers, artists, and industry leaders to connect with their audience and followers in a forum-like conversational space.
• Real-Time Translation: Through replies and direct conversations, users from all parts of the globe are able to convene over their interests and passions regardless of any linguistic restraints.
• Interest Based Search Function: You curate your own globe by selecting specific interests on your profile, seeing what your top matches are, checking out what’s trending in the world, or searching to see what’s going on nearby.

What’s to come?

We are constantly improving user experience by integrating innovative and engaging tools. Be sure to stay tuned for exciting upcoming features;

• Badges will reward users with specific achievements and visual merits when interacting with others from different geographic locations all around the globe.
• Heightened media integration will make sharing photos a seamless feature for conversations and add more versatility when creating profiles and communities.
• Cross-platform integration will allow users to share TicTalking posts on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to further engage your friends in conversation.
• Regular language updates ensure that everyone‘s voice is heard in the global conversation. TicTalking is currently featuring 35 languages and counting.

Download TicTalking on the App Store!

Download TicTalking on the Google Play Store!

For Even More TicTalking:

• Visit our website
• Follow us on Twitter
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• Follow us on Instagram
• Any additional inquires can be directed to hello@tictalking.com
• For additional images: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/g1eln6wpy0bk5x7/AADr5mD4UvjvQtRAfArV_W4Ca?dl=0