The Spirit of the Stream

It's working. The impact is penetrating. Of course, they shot themselves in the foot. Both feet as a matter of fact. That was helpful. So what I try to say to people and I say it quickly, because I know their mind is broken and focused on something else almost immediately, I say, "Well...what do you need?"

The movement started very slow with just a handful of people who worked diligently with the helpful add-ons of what big business thought was going to be beneficial to them. I wrote to Peter and said, "this thing is going to take of like a rocket...", but forgot to add that a rocket takes off slowly, loudly with lots of smoke and greater disturbance, but when it finally gets off the ground and into the wide open space, it really sails. Suddenly and without warning, the new technologies worked for a much larger group of people that came out of the small handful only a few years ago. Ustream takes large amounts of money from Phillips 66 to advertise, but the people don't care about the advertisement. The advertisements are losing their effect. It's just money that big companies are spending with new media companies that are not going to see the same kind of returns they were getting on paid cable, because the internet culture has a far shorter attention span anyway and moves on to their next interest whenever they want. Coca-Cola promotes itself on Twitter and gets replies instantly that they suck and are an intrusion. That's not the same kind of quiet love they were getting from their Saturday morning spots. No one was instantly talking back to them before. Everything old is not new again. That's the best part of this break. We cannot rely on a steady stream of anything. We just have to be agile and alert while the waves keep coming and going. The shift is not just intangible, it's impregnable because it's so intangible. Big companies and their big money will last only as far as their money does and it is becoming less and less important to have. Even for really poor people who have very little money, they have always known how to depend on themselves and the few resources they have had access to, they are seeing a greater amount of access to what they need as large companies are now trying to be charitable for public relations purposes and more open minded people who have had their eyes opened. It is truly amazing, but it is happening. Those who still want to argue that money can be saved if we are just more responsible with it, lose their argument, in their own beds at night while they are thinking. They are not even in a debate anymore. In their quietest moments, they know. They don't know what to do, but they know. It cannot be saved, because even if we wait for more sensible currency to take form, it won't make it to the finish line before the creators of the new form of life will have already begun showing up and shining. So what if they don't know what love is yet. You grow into it. And this time, no one will have to beat you up to prove it. They will not be able to subject you because they will need you.