It is interesting to go back and reflect on what we have written, what we have created, and think about who we were then. I know that for me it is a pretty stark change. I hope that the change is good, but as with anything, that is in the eye of the beholder.
I think that when we look at people, at companies and nations, we need to be more forgiving of their past and, while not completely ignoring it, listen to who they want to be today. Many times we find that nations change more than individuals.
Just looking at the United States, I see a stark divide between where we were 20 years ago and where we are today. Sadly, from my perspective it is not actually better. I had a lot of hope that we were in the middle of something amazing. That technology and the internet were going to change our lives forever. They have, just not in a way I and many others expected.
When I read The Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace I imagined another world. Today I just see another store front. But reading it again, 20 years later, I am filled with the same hope. We doers have the ability to make the Internet, the world wide webs, Cyberspace, whatever you want to call it, a place of Mind.
Or it can continue to be the Walmart of the future…
