Wikiality

Stephen Colbert has coined yet another word that will soon become a part of your vocabulary:  Wikiality.  Earlier this year he turned heads with is addition of “Truthiness” to the global lexicon.

In my humble opinion there is a degree of truthiness in Stephen’s definition of wikiality.  We are indeed entering a new phase of consensus building via Blogs, Wikis (in particular Wikipedia), and the Web in general.  And it’s a democratic process for the most part, although those individuals who are less inclined to participate in this revolution have become somewhat marginalized.

Dinner table arguements can have some sense of finality now that we can consult a medium which allows for consensus and majority views to bubble to the top of the endless chatter.  I would submit that the very fabric of our democracy and cultural decision making processes may be forever changed as these systems mature.

There is something very humbling about exposing your beliefs and values to the criticism and review that is built in to these consensus building systems.  Your ideas are quickly challenged and you are forced to defend them or face the consequences.  And if you lose interest, there is always someone there to fill the void and possibly render your ideas obsolete.  So the end product, or consensus, typcially ends up being dominated by those who are most engaged, persistent, and convincing in their particular area of expertise. Welcome to the age of wikiality.