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Radar pointed me in this direction - a short but thought provoking article by Joshua-Michele Ross about the emerging social nervous system. Some of it conincides with my own ideas about the future. Consider this:

As ever more people get connected, we see an acceleration in the way
the Internet is used to coordinate action and render services from
human input. We are witnessing the rise of a social nervous system.

Makes sort of sense. People are increasingly interacting with (micro)blogs, social networking site status messages and instant messaging as it is the normal mode of being. This is all happening very fast. The internet isn't old at all yet it affects most peoples life in a very direct way. There will be new modes of interaction with each other over the web. It is likely that the modes of communication used today are just a beginning of a development that no one can forecast. At the end of this process - Internet will be an extension of the human being and a mode of communication that will be as natural as interacting with the "physical" world. If this turns out right this new nervous system will empower people and bring a new level of transparency to human society. Ross ends with:
 

Our lives are increasingly being logged on the Internet. It is part of
the trade. Given the complexity and precarious position of the modern
world, getting people to genuinely reach out and touch their neighbors
is a good thing but it will come at the price of reshaping our
identities as part of a larger, interconnected whole.

An almost religious notion.