One of the big takeaways for me (as someone who actually builds and invests in social technologies) is that the digital infrastructure is indeed quite flimsy... because value has been separated over time from networks of people. Somewhat related, I wrote this through the lens of what money and value might mean in this new era of cryptocurrencies: https://designingliteracy.squarespace.com/literacyoftheimagination/2013/12/23/discovering-the-meaning-of-money-and-value-in-the-age-of-bitcoin

Hi John - thanks for writing this: "persistent context" is an apt descriptor and the basis for our work at ThinkState through search technology development and multi-platform storytelling frameworks. To build on Stephen's approach, when we make narrative the core structure and story the form, we can transcend the channels and archetypes that have confined us in a hypermediated world, and then begin to co-create emergent marketplaces. It is also our belief that narrative holds the keys to contextualizing the dynamics of complexity and in redefining our roles as evolutionary beings ;) For reference (through the lens of media): http://goonth.posterous.com/power-to-the-people-how-we-will-control-the-f http://goonth.posterous.com/part-v-of-five-easy-pieces-nurturing-holistic Best, Gunther