At the speed of thought

Digital media has allowed the creation of a global community, one that is diverse and shares a common language. One that makes us part of a whole, but allows us to experience it on our terms. It's presence has shaped a new zeitgeist worldwide. While the technology is still relatively new, it's underlying philosophy existed long before it became part of the mainstream consciousness. The postmodernist movement has gone from theory to practice using digital media as it's vehicle.

The idea of a social networking experience with universal access predates the online world we're a part of today by decades. Digital media serves as an egalitarian and immediate mode of communication. Fulfilling the postmodernist objective of bringing all humanity closer together. While postmodernism is an inclusive mindset, it rejects a one size fits all model. Again, digital media is aligned with postmodernist thought. Digital media allows a self-directed experience that can be fully customized, and tailored to a person's preferences.

In 2006, Time magazine proclaimed it's person of the year to be "You". "We're looking at an explosion of productivity and innovation, and it's just getting started, as millions of minds that would otherwise have drowned in obscurity get backhauled into the global intellectual economy." (1) The playing field has been leveled, not only can everyone be someone, they can do so as themselves. It's a concept that reflects the postmodern ideal of prosperity through creativity and diversity.

Digital media has made it possible for new ideas to come from unexpected and an increasingly diverse range of experiences. “where everything is possible and almost nothing is certain.”(2) The consequent divergent thinking sparks more new ideas. Ideas that often feed back to the field of digital media they sprang from. This symbiotic relationship benefits both the medium's capabilities and those who seek to enrich them. Technology has made this process possible, postmodernism helped set this process into motion.

1. Time's Person of the Year: You (2006).

Retrieved August 29, 2009, from Time website:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1569514,00.html

2. Postmodernism, From Wikipedia

Retrieved August 29, 2009, from Wikipedia website:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmodernism