The flower children wanted to make love, not money. They loved psychedelic props. Established institutions were considered evil. Cheap get togethers were cool. War was unpopular.
40 years later we call them communities of open source coders and bloggers. They use all kinds of Web 2.0 tools. Microsoft, IBM, other incumbent vendors are considered evil. "Un-conferences" are in vogue. Iraq keeps pulling Bush's ratings down.
Against this background, Tim O'Reilly in a commencement speech at Berkeley "If history is any guide, the democratization promised by Web 2.0 will eventually be succeeded by new monopolies, just as the democratization promised by the personal computer led to an industry dominated by only a few companies. Those companies will have enormous power over our lives -- and may use it for good or ill."
"Don't be afraid, in the end, to live whatever life you choose to the fullest, with the measure of your success being that you leave the world a slightly better place for your passage through it."
Berkeley in the 60s was the epicenter of the counter-culture. Looks ripe for another generation of "hippies".
Shambala, here we come.. ah, ooh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah...
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