I like reading content that teaches me something. I don't like reading blogs that teach the wrong thing. But how would we know the difference?

Knowing whether something is the proper perspective, the correct analysis or insightful is relevant to our existing knowledge asset in reference to other knowledge assets. A knowledge asset is simply that which we've learned, experienced or discovered. Our knowledge asset rest between our ears and in our hearts. We own, use, share and increase it every day, at least some of us do.

Life emerges in front of us based on our individual knowledge assets. We make choices based on what we know and we create things based on what we know. What we create is emergent properties of knowledge we think we have for others to consume. What we consume is emergent properties of knowledge others think they have. Everything in life is filtered through and by our knowledge assets. We call it an asset because everything of worth is created from and with it. The worth can be positive or negative based on how much knowledge we have and how well we use or grow it.

A Web of Knowledge?

The World Wide Web is a popular example of a decentralized system exhibiting emergent properties. There is no central organization rationing the number of links, yet the number of links pointing to each page follows a power law in which a few pages are linked to many times and most pages are seldom linked to. A related property of the network of links in the World Wide Web is that almost any pair of pages can be connected to each other through a relatively short chain of links. Although relatively well known now, this property was initially unexpected in an unregulated network. It is shared with many other types of networks called small-world networks.(Barabasi, Jeong, & Albert 1999, pp. 130-131)

Emergence of Convergence?

The word convergence implies the approach toward a definite value, a definite point, a common view or opinion, or toward a fixed or equilibrium state. One might ask what is the definite value, definite point, common view or opinion about what is emerging from all the interactions of the web today. The answer seems to be pointing towards the pursuit of "social capital, social currency" and a defined new currency. The words capital and currency are terms that related to economics. The economics of all things social seem to be the obsession of the marketplace seeking to measure a return on efforts from most things that are free.

What seems evident is that the convergence of thought and conversations are moving knowledge forward but knowledge yet to be defined with common agreement to its meaning and relevant definition. Brian Solis sparked some dialog with his "Social Capital: The Currency of the Social Economy" post. Venessa Miemis added to the dialog in two post : What Could the Future of Money Look Like? and "Social Capital is Not the Same As Whuffie". All three of these post created a stir of dialog, definition, argument, perspectives and attempts to put new meaning into new knowledge emerging before our eyes.

The irony of all this dialog is that most of us use existing "knowledge assets" (that which we've learned, experience and create) to try and frame the emergence of innovation. Innovation typically is something, including knowledge, that previously did not exist. So maybe we need to "link" old knowledge to create new knowledge that can converge and create new assets. Imagine linking our collective "knowledge assets" and aiming the process at innovation that creates a new economy.

Could it be done? Yes if we could agree to a process of ego convergence.