This post was part of my coverage of the Liberal Party’s Biennial convention for iPolitics.ca.
Don Tapscott is an Internet celebrity. Digital folk know him and admire him. They’ve read his books (Wikinomics, Growing Up Digital, Grown Up Digital and others) and follow his tweets.
Full disclosure: I’m a fan.
When it comes to understanding how technology has impacted social structures, advocacy, activism and change, Mr. Tapscott is an authority. That, and being a Canadian academic, made him a great choice as the wake up keynote for day two of the Liberal Convention (#lpc12 as it’s known online). Indeed, Alfred Apps’ lengthy introduction was enough to remind the audience how fortunate it was to have Mr. Tapscott on stage.
His talk was fascinating, though perhaps more motivational than anything else. Rebuilding Government, Democracy and Politics for the Age of Networked Intelligence occasionally drew scattered applause as he led delegates through a timeline of modern techno-social history. He highlighted how digital tools are channels over which people communicate, organize and make change. Leadership and government, Mr. Tapscott suggested, has to adopt new models based on fault-tolerant network structures rather than org charts.
The greater challenge will be to motivate the younger generation to participate in politics and democracy at a time when they (the younger generation) are the authorities on new modes of communication and action, and the old-guard leaders are not.
“Give young people responsibility and a sense of ownership and you’ll succeed,” Mr. Tapscott said in answer to a question toward the end of the hour. It was the first decisive call-to-action he delivered to a room of people many of whom seemed unfamiliar with the stories he’d shared.
Mr. Tapscott wrapped up with a flourish of thoughts backed by a video of starlings swarming a predator [a murmuration], set to Pachelbel’s Canon. It’s hard to say if it was his celebrity, Canadian citizenship, enthusiasm or conclusion that drew a standing ovation.
The true measure of his keynote will be the specific actions the Liberal party takes to creatively and effectively change itself, politics and government in Canada.
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