I know what you’re thinking. Not another “2.0” post. Humor me for a moment. I just wanted to make a brief observation that was inspired by a recent e-mail conversation I had with my friend at mindblob. You see, in one of the emails was this attached photo along with the phrase “Alien on Earth”. I couldn't shake this image and phrase. I don’t know why.
Then it hit me. Is the whole 2.0 movement simply about feeling like “we are not alone”?
Think about it. For the first time in history, people are truly connecting, collaborating, communicating, interacting, transacting, sharing, creating and finding out about each other in ways that were not previously possible. Sure e-mail, chat, and the Web were all pointing us to this direction, but there is something different about the emergence of the social network and the vast number of tentacles associated with it.
We are discovering each other—and we are re-discovering the brands we once felt connected with in new and meaningful ways. We are finding out that we are not alone, there are scores of others just like us scattered throughout the globe. We can now do more than merely correspond as pen pals. We can meet virtually, leave each other notes, share and spread our ideas. We can challenge and inspire each other. We have found purpose in this evolution of life. And we have found comfort in the idea that others like us exist.
Life 2.0 is about discovering our purpose through finding each other—and ourselves.
That’s what happens when we realize that we belong—that there is a place for any and all of us. All of a sudden, we wake up to the reality that we are no are no longer strange visitors in a strange land. We are no longer “Aliens on Earth”. We are a part of something bigger than ourselves. Something alive. Something very human. Something that needs us to fuel it as much as we rely upon it to advance ourselves.
That’s all. I can’t go too deep here. I just thought that there might be an even more simplistic way to describe the “2.0” phenomenon. It may just be all about finding out that “we are not alone”—and making the most of all the joys, freedoms, and responsibilities that come with this realization.
