A few months ago, I had the opportunity to see how our civilization functions and where we are headed as a society. This information came by way of “The Pendulum Presentation” and opined that we are now in midst of a transition to a “civic” society. The rise of social media and networking seems to support that theory very well.
The presentation was created by Roy Williams of the Wizard Academy and was presented by a friend and business partner Michael Drew of Beneath The Cover and Promote-A-Book. Compliments of Wikipedia, civic society is described in the following manner:
Civil (Civic) society refers to the arena of uncoerced collective action around shared interests, purposes and values. In theory, its institutional forms are distinct from those of the state, family and market, though in practice, the boundaries between state, civil society, family and market are often complex, blurred and negotiated. Civil society commonly embraces a diversity of spaces, actors and institutional forms, varying in their degree of formality, autonomy and power. Civil societies are often populated by organizations such as registered charities, development non-governmental organizations, community groups, women’s organizations, faith-based organizations, professional associations, trade unions, self-help groups, social movements, business associations, coalitions and advocacy groups.
We have seen this definition come to life through social media as more and more people are joining the collective discussion. The Pendulum Presentation presents the need for authenticity in our marketing and everything that we do online and in society as a whole. In the social media landscape it’s not OK to take without giving. It’s not OK to talk in a grandiose manner on something that you can’t deliver on. If you are not prepared to give value in a straightforward manner, the only thing you will get is blacklisted and shunned.
We have seen the shift to the civic mindset in business as well. Competition and squashing your opponent is making way for cooperation and collaboration. We are seeing the rise in business associations that focus on improving the collective whole of business not the singular interest of any individual.
What are your thoughts about this? Are you seeing the pattern of a civic society? What’s the next step as we transition into this stage of our history? How are you using social media and networking more in the service of others?
Comments are closed.