The adoption and growth of the scientific journal system has created a body of shared knowledge for our civilization, a collective long-term memory which is the basis for much of human progress. This system has changed surprisingly little in the last 300 years. The internet offers us the first major opportunity to improve this collective long-term memory, and to create a collective short-term working memory, a conversational commons for the rapid collaborative development of ideas.
Chris Anderson's blog about the shift away from mass marketing toward niche marketing, and the implications of this (and other effects of the IT revolution that make Long Tail possible) for the future of society.
"What is your dangerous idea? An idea you think about (not necessarily one you originated) that is dangerous not because it is assumed to be false, but because it might be true?" asked to "who's who" of third culture scientists and science-minded thinkers