We need a "Generation M" On Blog for the future. Generation M is the generation embracing the rise of the Internet, using various multimedia, multitasking and who is matrixed and can connect our members using multi-channels.
Click here for an article on Gen M
We live in a world where a billion can connect with another billion in different countries. It changed the very definition of friendship. There are now more than one billion voices in Facebook. In other words, 1 in 6 people use this technology now. And this absolutely changes everything, not counting other social platforms such as Twitter, Foursquare, Digg, Linked In, Pinterest, Google Plus, Reddit, Google+, Tumblr, Youtube, WordPress, Instagram and StumbleUpon.
Interest in our blog is not sustainable without members able to make comments and interact. Hong Kee rightly took away the bulletin board on the blog presumably coz there were lots of outsiders posting ads and making rubbish comments. What I think the next On Blog should do is to individually post the URL links for each posting on the blog to GH5 Facebook page which can be easily done. Then we restrict the GH5 Facebook page to members only whereby they can write and interact as a family, while maintaining the blog as a window for the outside world into GH5.
There are about 140 billion friend connections in Facebook. People are very connected! A facebook user has on average about 300 friends, which was only 150 two years ago.
“150… 150… Why 150? Don’t you think it’s such a special number?”
According to Dunbar, an anthropologist, the number 150 appears to be a universal constant, a number that repeats itself in the universe. This number is the average of people in villages, towns, communities and even animals in the pack which promote a high incentive of remaining together. Any number that is higher than 150 promotes disassociation or breaking down of relationships. We at GH5 have a manageable 100 odd members.
So, does that mean the more friends we have, the more broken friendships we have? This number is a good theory to think about, on whether technology can stretch the number 150 to a higher number of meaningful friendships. Let's run a test. How many people do you contact with in Facebook currently, meaning writing on their wall, looking at their pictures, liking their posts, sharing news and commenting? Do they come to 150 people? In fact, the "core group" who constantly press like on your postings and make comments is around 5 people, the average size of a family.
The future On Blogs of hashing need not necessarily be an exceptional writer nor particularly good in English. There is no need to write thought provoking, mind stimulating articles as only a handful appreciate them; he just needs to get people connected and involved.
We are not homogenous in our education and language proficiency. I estimate that half of the members can't read English. Hence in our context there is little need for a good writer but we have plenty of room for a "Generation M" On Blog. With the right media platforms for members to interact, a "Generation M" guy like Sonny (Bang Cock) who can gig and write a little in dialects, Malay, Chinese and English would be an ideal On Blog/On Sec. The 21st century is about the social media platforms and being connected.
