Reading Christopher Locke’s Internet Apocalypso was both fun and painful at the same time. It was a very interesting article, except for the fact that at some points there is the feeling that I was supposed to understand what he is talking about when I really do not (but that is his ‘voice,’ as I learned later in the chapter, so fine). It was also quite an experience to see some of the things I learned in class bashed a bit (i.e. apparently, consistency of ‘key messages’ was not a good thing). Also, it was quite long, when I feel that the points were quite simple.
Locke showed how the internet gave people their ‘voice’ back. Indeed, people have been consumed by their business. I particularly agree when Locke said that commerce is a natural part of life, but then it consumed us. Commerce is supposed to sustain us, but now it’s the other way around. We sustain commerce. Somehow, it became more important than us, when in fact, it will not exist without us. Because of this, we lost touch with a piece of our humanity-we lost sight of the more important things in life. No wonder we’re so stressed out.
The internet changed that. Control, which for so long was concentrated in the hands of a select few, was suddenly up for grabs, for anyone who would take the time to log on. Suddenly, we’re back in touch with each other. And as we conversed with each other, we slowly but surely got those bits of humanity that was lost when we became a mere statistic in a market research report.
Of course, this has effects on organizations. This is because organizations are composed of people. The very same people who are now being empowered by that new but scary thing called the internet. However, these organizations, being used to the mindless workers that they had for so long, are now at a loss as to how to cope with this change. So maybe an intranet will do the trick. Wrong. Maybe a flashy website will be enough. Still wrong. Because no matter how they tinker with websites or intranets, if their basic mindset is still the same, nothing will happen. Control is not concentrated at the top floors of skyscrapers and executive offices anymore. It’s everywhere. Change is here. It has always been here. Time to stop resisting and to face the music.
People are now realizing that they are people. Organizations should also start to realize that they are composed of people. Thinking, breathing, and living human beings.
Leizy Vista 