Michael Brodie is CEO and Founder of OurNet - http://about.ournet.news - a 15-year vision that aims to transform and empower the way communities that work together and hopefully create 'a world that works'. Carl Munson is the organisation's Community Builder and 'Town Crier'.
OurNet is expected to relaunch later this year. In the meantime, Michael and Carl will showcase the project's founding principles and key premises through conversations, or ONversations, here on https://steemit.com/@onversations .
Here's the first ONversation in the wake of Facebook's recent difficulties...
Carl: Michael, everything seems to be calming down now after the Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica debacle. Looks like people are essentially and ultimately creatures of habit.
There are many new and interesting platforms emerging, some that reward contribution and others that are built on privacy and decentralisation.
What chance however do they have, of attracting people who we know from our knowledge of human nature, will go with established flows and precedents - rather than disruption (in all senses of the word)?
Michael: I don't think most people are motivated by disruption. And I don't think people are complete sheep. I think people recognize tools that will be useful to them and are easy to use.
Now, if the designers of those tools focus on disruption rather than utility, then I don't believe that they will have success. There is so much evidence that people don't really value privacy and decentralisation (otherwise why would they/we disseminate information about themselves so freely?), what they (we) value is convenience and utility. And, we don't like to be thought of as mugs.
So a platform that delivers utility conveniently, whilst being honest and clear will, in my view, have the best chance of attracting users.
To be continued. To join the ONversation, contact Carl - email: carl@ournet.co
Become one of the 'Folks for a World that Works' here - https://goo.gl/forms/2SIxVCMzXDeogcoL2
Footnote on the word 'conversation'
conversation | Origin and meaning of conversation by Online Etymology Dictionary
Meaning: "place where one lives or dwells," also "general course of actions or habits, manner of conducting oneself in the world," https://www.etymonline.com/word/conversation