Who are the Digerati?

In Google-searching through some of my curiosities about Digital Learning this month I stumbled across www.edge.org and this page in particular that asks (and then tells us) “Who are the Digerati?” I found it fascinating, and thought that perhaps you might too:

Who are the "digerati" and why are they "the cyber elite"? They are the doers, thinkers, and writers who have tremendous influence on the emerging communication revolution. They are not on the frontier, they are the frontier.

The digerati evangelize, connect people, adapt quickly. They like to talk with their peers because it forces them to go to the top of their form and explain their most interesting new ideas. They give each other permission to be great. That's who they want to talk to about the things they are excited about because they want to see if it plays. They ask each other the questions they are asking themselves, and that's part of what makes this cyber elite work.

You will find links to the stories of forty different web evangelists, fondly referred to by nicknames such as The Impresario, The Saint, The Gadfly, The Buccaneer, and The Citizen (whom I was initially seeking to learn more about when I found this page.)

Enjoy.

“I resent the shallowness of the critics who say that if you sit in front of a computer and participate in online conversations worldwide you are not leading an authentic life. I question the premise that one person can judge the authenticity of another person's life. Millions of people passively watch television all day long. Don't tell me that having an email relationship with someone on the other side of the world is less authentic than sitting alone and watching the tube. For many people, this new medium is a way of breaking out of the virtual world they already live in.”
---Howard Rheingold (howard rheingold pic: Justin Hall & Robin Good)

Post author: Rosa Say

Comments

[Tim Draayer]

Rosa, I love the quote at the end. Howard is right, its about time we rethink our definition how impersonal the web is in comparison to the physical world.

Its only a matter of time before exceptional individuals, such as the men and women who speak at TED, come together through networks (and other digital means) to share, serve and work together for the betterment of a global community.

Actually, its already happening ... but I think we will begin to see online networks pop up with the expressed purpose of connecting people (like TED does through twenty minute talks) through the means of text, audio and video.

One of my goals in the coming years is to bring such an organization to be.