Architecture is emerging from the rubble of the Pre-revolutionary Internet. Days when the one way communication of static sites mirrored the reality of a faceless world dominated by corporations.
Web 2.0 has brought democracy to the global village and created an entirely connected mental environment. One in which users are allowed to navigate, discover and interact in our virtual habitat - a vast interconnected playground charged with potential freedom and an emphasis on user power, all but lost in today's image saturated culture.
It's now not only the rich that can create and distribute the image, but anyone with access to a computer. Politics, culture, and education no longer have a price tag, and censorship is no longer an option.
The cultivation of the Internet, our most democratic stage, is contributing to the increasing liberation of the user's mental environment.
Rise of the digital native
Organisations must alter to meet the demands of a radically changing audience. A presence in our virtual habitat is a necessity to allure the digital native, and in most scenarios is even more important than a presence in the physical.
Digital natives however have not only been brought up in the digital age, they have been completely assimilated into the culture of image - of the brand. This has developed aesthetic expectation and short attention spans. The millisecond meme and brand continuity rule supreme.
Democratic, credible information is demanded by digital natives. Our virtual habitat has become the ideal platform to achieve this, interactivity and accessibility allow for this diet of two way information. The organisation can access the worlds most powerful audience, so long as they play on the digital natives terms.
My global village
Our stagnant mono-political culture is starting to be challenged by the changing relationships between government, media, corporations, and the individual.
The digital environment creates a level playing field for all. It has produced the capacity for individuals, NGO's, charities and small organisations to compete with high-budget marketing and government spin.
For the digital native word of mouth is even more powerful than the advert; and in a global village where Internet accessibility is ever expanding and its cost almost non-existent, information is becoming increasingly democratic.
« return.