Origin of the Connective
On February 23rd, 1999, I delivered a presentation to a roomful of of technologists attending Internet World in Tel-Aviv, Israel. The presentation was entitled: Internet Applications: Empowering the Individual.
The presentation defines something called the Connective. The concept defined back then forms the basis for the contents of this blog. In retrospect, this is not a great name, but it is what it is (and it’s no worse than Web 2.0).
Today, many years later, the Internet seems to finally be becoming what its early adopters always wanted it to be. Current ideas surrounding Web 2.0, peer production, social networking, emergent intelligence, etc., etc. seem to mirror much of my past research.
Upon rediscovering the original presentation, I came to the stark realization that I didn’t really drink my own kool aid. I was preaching this stuff, but did I widely post the presentation on a site or blog? Did I invite feedback and dialog from peers? No, I just let it sit on my drive.
Well, it’s time to remedy that.
Here is a video of the original presentation delivered back in 1999:
And here is the source material for the presentation, in three formats:
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Flash version of the presentation (Malware-free executable. Click on the logo in the upper-left corner to drill-down by subject). |
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PowerPoint version of the presentation (same content as Flash version, but ordered). |
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Word document of the speech itself, co-ordinated against the slides. |
The content and structure of this blog mirror that of the presentation. All of the charts and graphics used on this site are re-worked versions of the original slides, with the information unchanged.
Why did I wait 9 years before finally speaking up?
At the time, I was enamored with the Internet and all of the promise its technologies offered. A few years later in 2002, when I had to close the doors of my startup like so many others, I became very disillusioned. The excitement faded. The idea of continuing to keep up with the “bleeding-edge” sickened me. I took a contract job as an Information Architect at a major bank, and more than that, I liked it. After almost 10 years of trying to make my Internet fortune, it was time for a break.
I have now been an Architect for several years, working at various large financial corporations. Of course I know what a blog is, I use Wikipedia, and I have a Facebook account, but the whole how-does-this-change-the-world mentality had been pushed to a corner of my mind. It’s time to let that part of my brain wake up and stretch.
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The Connective 