Participation in the 19th Century?

The first event that came to my mind as I did a quick mental inventory on my 19^th century knowledge (after reminding myself that we call the years of format 18xx the 19th century) was the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the Prophet Joseph Smith. As I thought aloud, my roommate quickly chimed in: “the Civil War.” And there it was: my standing knowledge of the 19^th century, summed up under two broad, yet, in a worldview, specialized topics, very much attached to the United States (though not without worldwide implications, to be sure). This knowledge burn-out at two subject headings reflects the sum total of my life experience, a part of which includes formal education in the public and private spheres. I said (ranted) more about that in my first draft, but a revision has cut that material in favor of at least two future, much more coherent posts. Stay tuned.

Participation is the name of the game for my digital concept group, and my first thought on that theme is this: Participation drives social media. It is the fuel for the machine. Without participation, it doesn’t matter how great of a technological innovation or coding marvel or advertising scheme you’ve come up with, it’ll never take flight.The masses make social media what it is, and they ultimately guide its evolution. The developers respond to the masses, or become obsolete.

Now that I have my initial response, I’d like to quote from the Digital Civilization Wiki: “Creativity occurs when people are engaged in their digital interactions…” In other words: creativity is the child of participation. Maybe we could even be so bold as to say: “Education occurs when people are engaged…”