Custom Publishing | Custom Media | Imagination Publishing

With the growth of “instant” communication technology there has become a preference in fast information instead of intelligent information.

When I was young, I learned that imagination is very important and received praise from my parents and friends for drawing detailed pictures of comic book characters and mythical creatures in action sequences. Then, through grade school and junior high school there was a shift toward following direction; for staying “within the lines.” Cursive letters had to be written again and again for perfection, and any sense of style should only be shown in art class. In high school, there was an opportunity for individual pursuits and interests, but still the requirement of staying on topic and keeping activities “within the lines.” Any encouragement of individual interest bowed to the ultimate SAT score and individuality was only worthy of praise if it got you into college.

Fortunately, a liberal arts education provides the opportunity to develop the skill to think critically, the ultimate quality of an intelligent person. There is little merit in the ability to quote facts or be a huge resource of knowledge. But it is forming an opinion that sets people apart. If you don’t have an opinion about a book or a Google SRP then what’s your role in the project? In the process?

I regularly receive forwarded articles and retweeted blog posts without any added comment or opinion. Twitter even updated the retweet function to automatically add someone else’s tweet to your stream without even giving you an opportunity to comment. What then, does your role become in this information sharing, in social media, except to be a researcher, feeling admiration for finding and sharing quickest.

Does a comment field even suggest intelligent response? Does 140 characters provide encouragement for content or for rapid reply? There are smart comments in 140 characters by those who recognize the limited space as a challenge. Those are the ones who understand how to react, how to question.

But in the massive amounts of communication occurring all over the world at any given second, and the incredible growth of short, rapid communication—the comment, the tweet, the text, the ping—what is the future of the book, the essay, the song? Will these devices fall to the popularity of speed as well? Will the intelligence that was once in an essay and now a blog post fall upon deaf ears, or go without comment?

How will we educate future generations about the importance of quality content over fast information? How can we speak in the language of speed to communicate the goal of depth? Try looking that up on Google.