Comfort in Numbers

Corporations, over the past two decades, have been restructuring themselves in order to better compete in world markets. In doing so, they have reordered corporate culture as we know it and, possibly, created a sense of aloneness that has never been felt before in corporations.

People need people, as the song goes, and while they may not be the luckiest people in the world, the sense of belonging and of organization may be what lies between anxiety and context. So, as I thought about it, I wondered how the internet might be involved in retaining this sense of community that may be lost in our new corporate culture.

Sure enough, there's something out there where a guy named Jerry Michalski has set up something called "The Brain," a series of things he has noted during the past year and which you can search.

I searched and I found "Meatball" which is an on-line community devoted to helping others do whatever it is they're doing. Sounded like a good concept to me and I explored a bit more. I found that you would be called a "wikizen" in this new community and that the basic mission was to combat powerlessness, boredom and to create a sense of community. It appears to be the basis for providing that social glue I always think about in my quiet moments.

People in all walks of life are starting not only blogs, but newer types of internet communities where they can share their experiences and form "friendships" as it were on the internet. I feel it's almost like it must have been when people first began using planes in a big way for fun rather than business trips.

Where will it go? As far as the wikizens want, I guess. Let's wait and see.

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