More 'heads in the clouds' help give power to the people

Dispersed control has brought about a fundamental change in the business and political worlds. The first commercial application of this was "cloud computing," power spread across the Internet instead of residing in a single locale on a particular server. So, too, the way ideas are spread has become more diffuse. Now as with so many other things, the impetus came from scientific innovation, when thousands of computers were harnessed to aid in the search for extraterrestrial life. "Created equal" is a fundamentally American concept that has in point of fact helped Earth.

But the greatest effect of unleashing the crowd has been the liberation of the people themselves. In the business world we are seeing a continued demolition of the "command and control" structures that many industries and offices employed, a Stalinesque relic that has outlived its purpose in the vast majority of organizations.

The old-style suggestion box has been replaced with meaningful discussions across many levels on the current status and direction of the firm, with executives realizing that the rank and file probably understand many elements of the business better because of their proximity to creation and use.

The Internet

And like the Internet, which has been a key factor in this openness and communication, this movement has spilled over manmade boundaries. Such as a company cannot control and restrict its people from discussing how they feel for very long, others across the globe are utilizing this access to knowledge and ability to communicate to break the powers of dictators and despots.