Shawn – Beyond One World

I realise that this is a daunting and seemingly impossible task and my first steps in putting up the site has not been successful, the traffic is almost nothing and when I look at it from the few unsuspecting browsers eyes and see how they got to any of the pages I guess they are met with something that is either irrelevant or incoherent to them. So if I am to take this seriously I have got to change the whole presentation, to show what the message is clearly and quickly and put up a platform that will promote collaboration and discussion. Again, right now, I feel this is an impossible task.

Is it worth it? Spending this time on an idea that appears all over the world fragmented and discussed by many who are clearly more knowledgeable and skilled than I. Should I spend this time on more profitable or productive activities with clear objectives and achievable results? This idea that burns in my mind on occasions that I personally think will be the most beneficial activity that we could undertake in our whole history. Is this a sensible and well grounded person stating this? Am I just dreaming this? Is this just a naive idea that bears no relationship with reality? Who am I to say what is this is? I am fighting with my own common sense but still losing the battle, this has been an idea that has been forming one way or another in every aspect of my life and growing in size to way beyond my world and what I am capable of.

I really do need help!

There are no real arguments I can fight this idea with. Will someone come along with more clarity and convincingly say, ‘Yes, well, this idea is all well and good but …!!!’ and blow it away. Those close to me use the argument of noone being interested, or focus on the impossibility of what it entails to succeed and I find this really disturbing but they are not arguments against the idea itself, just a sad reflection on being human, mortal, fallible and unconcerned. I believe, without proof, that everyone of us is capable of great things, of great change, of ultimate good within the heart, needing a tool by which these changes can be started and improved, no matter what evil or negativity that life, experience or others have done to them.
That, dare I say it, we can all work together to create the greatest expression of our combined efforts to help each other and much, so much more.

That we have now, for the first time in known history, the ability, the technology and communication to create this tool and evolve it to whatever we dream of.

We now have the ability to centralise our global efforts completely, to remove wasted effort, to begin and improve all we have learned of information management and technology in putting all our knowledge and processes in one virtual place. Ultimately structured so that everything can be found exactly where it is expected to be without searching for it.

We now have the ability to expose all our knowledge to everyone, open and free to all those who wish to use it. No more harm and wasted effort hiding information, technology, assets that belong to no ‘one’ person or company but to everybody. We now have the ability to share these things wherever we are and accelerate our progress significantly.

The technology exists for the first time in known history to collaborate and work on ideas with people from all backgrounds and experiences. To finally work on ways that agreements can be made, openly and transparently, that govern all that is important to us. To form a structured system of government of absolute equality for all individuals that exist, that is owned, coordinated and participated in by anyone and everyone. For each of us, no more leaders, no more centralisation of power, of individuals or companies uncontrollably profiting from others, just a system of government that serves us and our collective agreement upon how it works.

Finally, the ability to efficiently coordinate and tackle global, or universal issues that effect us all. We will have the tools to remove inefficiency, wasted, duplicated or conflicting effort to give all individuals the time and the ability to follow their highest ideals. To finally help ourselves and others achieve all that we possibly can in the time we have here.

Well, from the highest ideals to the first steps…

How to deliver the message? How to communicate it? How to promote the collaboration and ideas that could possibly make it work? Or even to get opinions and feedback whether positive or negative.

I need help.

My ideas at the moment focus on making something like a social site allowing each decision and idea to be developed and voted on, to work more on making it a more coherent message and something that individuals will enjoy working on. To find groups of individuals that form the fragments of these ideas and make an effort to initiate some interest.

It all starts now, this eternal moment of time that all ideas begin in …

Google announced in September 2008, as part of their tenth year birthday celebrations that they would give $10 million towards 5 of the best ideas that would help the most people in the world. Many 30-second videos were created to express many hopefuls ideas and uploaded to YouTube in the run up to the deadline for entries on the 20th October 2008, including one from myself which looking back is quite dire – never mind. Google were then to review all the entries, select a hundred of the best and publish this list on their site on January 27th.

A process of having the public vote from these and shorten the list to 20 of the very best ideas from then the semi-finalists. An advisory panel would then meet with a set of criteria to choose the final 5.

In my opinion a fantastic and heartwarming idea that really showed that maybe Google was one of the most positive, open minded, generous and forward thinking companies in the world.

Imagine that, calling upon the whole world and selecting the best ideas that we could think of to help each other and then acting on them, actually providing resources for them to be carried out and helping the most people in the world.

The problem was, the world responded…

On 26th January 2009, Andy Berndt, the Managing Director of Google Creative Lab posted up an apology on Googles Blog – there was going to be a delay.

Apparently Googlers all around the world had been overwhelmed by the sheer number of entrants – in 25 languages there had been over 150,000 proposals put forward. March 17th had been given as the date which all of this would be sorted out and announced on their Project 10 to the 100 site.

On the 17th March appeared an update on the blog, it has overwhelmed them and it will take a while longer…

Three months later, now 10th June, there has been no announcement and no news posted upon the site. So whatever happened to the Google Project 10 to the 100?…

Why didn’t they just open the doors and published the whole lot? 149,900 ideas would never be seen except for Google themselves, surely that isn’t of much use – is it?

Thinking back on my own reaction to Google doing this in September, I thought it was in itself one of the most refreshing ideas that I have heard from a company in many years. But now I remember, well, it is a company – there are managers, shareholders, directors who have a cut in the operation and assets of Google. It is not completely open and for its own existence to continue it cannot be and any effort by its staff has to be aligned to meet its corporate needs.

I must remember now that it was not Google that produced this idea…
It was one or more individuals within it that created it, unnamed persons, who should have the praise and not the company. It is them who have this idea inside them and the desire to help as many people as possible. It is also most of the submitters of these ideas that have this within them.

This kind of idea has to be completely open, transparent and collaborated upon by anyone who has the desire to. In fact this idea should continue, even without the possibility of corporate funding to be developed, thought about, discussed and worked on to make the core ideas within them shine. I’ll bet easily that most of the ideas are similar in concept, that they show the same desire, the same principles just in slighly different application and using the increasing possibilities and technologies to enable them.

But these ideas are something more again…

They are the best that can be produced within the moment, the timescale and the visibility of those that responded. Imagine if that possibility always exists. Not belonging to a small group of people but to everyone – accessible by all virtually in one place so that they can always be found.

These ideas should be opened for all, always…

For now, I do hope those who have put the effort in to create Project 10 to the 100 succeed and fulfil their mission.

But the core ideas behind this need to take place, thought through and acted on. Imagine how different the world would be if it were possible.