From Our Perspective

I thought it might make sense to set the stage and provide a brief introduction of ourselves as a backdrop to future blog articles that we intend on publishing on DataBanqMedia.com. The observations that I make about the Internet are of course based on the collective experiences of everyone… at DataBanq (which of course are the collective experiences of everyone, everywhere.)

TS Eliot observes in his first chapter of “Quartets” that time present and time past are both perhaps present in time future, and time future contained in time past. Our perspective of the Internet is derived from an understanding and appreciation of the history of technology and the web. Although nearly 3-years “outdated”, Christopher Allen’s Blog on “Tracing the Evolution of Social Software” is, in my mind, the most concise summary of nearly 70 years of software and technology history. Allen’s writings illustrate the two core drivers that have influenced the evolution of technology over the last century:

• Man’s ability to access (and store) information, and
• His ability to exchange that information with others

From the perspective of metasystem transition, these core drivers are the catalysts for all change, invention or thought discovery. That is to say that, the faster & more effectively we are able to access & exchange information, the faster we achieve an understanding of concepts previously undiscovered.

In the course of the last century, thought discoveries in the fields of technology & communication have provided untold benefit to the discoverers of today. The last 100 years have delivered the Internet, iPod, cell phone, pc, floppy disc, sony walkman, xerox machine, television, record player, transistor radio, motion pictures, phonograph, and the first transcontinental phone call.

Imagine the limitations on thought discovery and collaboration prior to Gutenberg’s movable type (1455), the invention of bound books (100 AD), the first library (Greece, 530 BC), the first encyclopedia (Syria, 1270 BC), or the development of a formal alphabet (Phoenicia, 3500BC). Makes it pretty hard to communicate, right? Today, we enjoy a global network of interconnected computer networks consisting of millions of smaller networks, which transport information in a variety of audio & visual formats.

In just less than 100 years, we’ve gone from the first radio to the World Wide Web. It took the Greeks nearly 2,000 years to improve on the Phoenician alphabet by adding vowels. Why so long – no cell phones in Ancient Greece.

My colleagues and I are constantly exchanging information and sharing ideas via email, mobile phone, whiteboard illustrations, word processing… the list goes on and on. My computer allows me store a browser application which gives me access to the Internet so that I can Google concepts that I can learn more about on Wikipedia. Thanks to enhanced communication & collaboration, we are able to achieve more thought discoveries today than ever before.

As we recognize that these discoveries include rapid advancements in the medical community, ongoing development of social consciousness, environmental awareness, other enabling technologies, and global connectivity & communication, it’s easy to see what drives our organization’s interest in the Web. One can see the influence that the history of technology & communication has had in nearly every aspect of our daily work. It permeates nearly every aspect of our daily lives.

It’s where we work, where we play, and where we intend to be creating value for many years to come.

David Bayer is President of DataBanq Media