Monday Video: The Seed and Online Ecosystems

Via GOOD comes today’s Monday Video called “Seed.” I picked this one for two reasons. First, it is a great visual explanation with creative use of stop animation and 3D paper-animation.  Visual thinking in action.

Second, it is a reminder of a principle of online interaction: reciprocity. Our success with each other online depends not only upon our individual choices, but other bits and pieces, the “soil, rain, birds, humans, etc” that help the seed along might be the willingness of others to amplify (i.e. retweet) what we do or say, to connect us with others, the ability of software to facilitate the transactions. Each act influences another – but we have a lot of choice about how we reciprocate. While the passing of a seed through a human gut may not have a lot of intent, our willingness to share information, for example, does.

In other words, our online interactions are by necessity part of an ecosystem. While the individual may appear to have supremacy, this is a process that requires many players. How we choose to play is up to us. And that matters.

Take a look