We're Making History Together

It may very well be that when future generations look back on our times, these months may be seen as a major turning-point in history. We're changing society together, and the exciting and far-reaching effects of our mutual collaboration should be clear to all by now.

All thanks to facebook.

Think about it. The internet once was the sole domain of geniuses and uber-geeks. The twin advent of services such as America Online and Prodigy -- along with this interesting little program called a "browser" from Netscape, opened the door to an entire new reality.

For better or worse, the very tech-savvy activities that got poor geeks like me harassed in high-school quickly became part of the dominant social paradigm. Five years ago, who dated on the internet? Ten years ago, how many people even had access to email?

Services like myspace and facebook have opened the door to interconnectivity even further. It struck me today that facebook's "people you may know" feature may be the single greatest networking and reunion tool ever invented. Period.

It seems like everyday that I reconnect with somebody from my past, or link online with a current connection who I did not realize had a facebook account. A very simple bit of algorithmic programming is changing lives.

In the land of media, everything is in a tumult. Walk around New York, and that slight vibration you feel is the record industry shaking in their collective boots. Take the example of jazz artist Maria Schneider, who left her record label, went independent, made more money than she ever did as a signed artist, and proceeded to tour the country and win a grammy. It's only just starting. Thanks to the internet, the previously scoffed-at less-than-2% market share of Classical music is suddenly big business. It turns out that 2% is still a lot to cash in on, and small companies and private individuals are now competing to give musicians the best deal possible.

Caesar isn't dead, but he's on his way to a potentially fatal stroke. You know an empire is about to topple when they become brutal and repressive (thank you, RIAA.)

Your strange favorite band or niche interest is now an international and well-connected community.

Your best friend or crush from grade-school is only a quick away.

With all the moral abuse on the internet, it is wonderful to see that such a simple tool can come around and make the world a smaller, more well-connected place. The end results of such an event cannot be known. We can be certain, however, that this is history in the making. Just imagine: it's only going to move forward from here on out...