We’re All Communication Hubs Online

Courtesy of @guykawasaki (for those that don’t follow him on twitter, take a look) I came across VeryEvolved.com’s recent post which articulates an overlooked trait of how things go viral.  This inspired me to briefly write about the empowerment of the web and how it has changed virality and how we all communicate.

A lot has been discussed about influencers to promote widespread use and observance of a product, service, video, story, etc.  Their ability to reach a wide audience can spark a viral effect, however, they are not a necessity.

The internet has dramatically changed the flow of communication in which anyone can reach an audience.  Mediums such as video sharing sites (YouTube), blogs (WordPress, Blogger), microblogs (Twitter), social networks (Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn), and consumer review sites (Yelp!) are just a few of the outlets which have empowered the average person to disseminate information.  With enough attention, they too can create “virality”.  No longer must we rely on well connected people to widely spread information and influence.

In fact, there seems to be a growing preference toward “horizontal communication”.  Traditionally, society has learned and gathered information from communication hubs such as broadcast television, radio, newspapers, books, teachers, etc.  With the advent of the internet, communications have been desegregated.  People communicate and diffuse information with their peers.  Their mutual societal status and similarities make their opinions just as strong, if not stronger than influencers.

Now I’m not saying hubs, influencers, or whatever you want to call them, are not effective.  Doing so would contradict my first sentence.  I find fascination in the way our communication structure has dramatically changed through the course of a few decades.  The internet continues to empower and radically change the world.  Out of curiosity and a thirst for opportunity, I continually ask myself…

what next?