Almost 50 years after its release, John Lennon’s Imagine continues to resonate with us. For all we know, though, Lennon’s words could be describing what the digital world of the future should look like. We’re not quite there with people living life in peace (the Internet has its trolls), but we can already tick a few things off the list!
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Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion, too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
[…]
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
[…]
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
[…]
Imagine there’s no countries
Lennon would be pleased to know that we have made a move towards the cancellation of borders. With more and more remote work positions available, you could live in Croatia and work for a company in NYC. Countries become irrelevant thanks to digital technology. The Internet erases not only geographic distance but also nationalities. The digital world is a new environment that eliminates discrimination on nationalities and locations. As long as you’ve got a reliable and secure Internet connection, nobody cares which country you live in!
Nothing to kill or die for
At a time such as this where a pandemic is forcing us to take further precautions, digital communications offer a safe and contact-free alternative that can represent many face-to-face interactions. Countless professionals have been working from home since March 2020, carrying on their day-to-day tasks virtually. Doctors have recorded a boost in virtual appointments that reduce risks of contagion. Even real estate agencies have proposed virtual tours, such as the ones to view these display homes which can be arranged digitally. Digital technology enables us to control health risks, hence reduce threats that could kill. There is still a lot of work to do when it comes to achieving the “nothing to kill or die for” ideal described by Lennon. However, keeping dangerous diseases at bay in one step in the right direction.
Imagine no possessions
Fashion labels for share, co-working spaces, and even sharing starters in restaurants. Sharing has become second nature to most of us. Where does digital technology come into play? If you work in IT, you’ve probably heard of open source software, which has a publicly available code. OSS systems can be modified and distributed by anyone as they see fit. More importantly, the code is also created in a collaborative manner, encouraging flexible and ego-free solutions. The process allows developers to find new ways of solving problems. Successful projects, such as Linus and GitHub, are used every day in the business world.
All the people sharing all the world
Sharing the digital world may not be what Lennon had in mind, but we’ve long been sharing online data through our virtual journeys. Data can be used to improve your online presence – every blogger loves their Google Analytics for this reason. But you can also make data part of an income-generating approach through advertising, ensuring you get paid per ad display. Digital data, as long as they don’t contain confidential information, are some of the most shareable things the modern world has created.
Would Lennon be pleased to know that digital is making Imagine possible? It’s hard to know. Perhaps, he wouldn’t agree with all those findings. However, he couldn’t deny the potential to reach out to people, help each other and share knowledge in a borderless digital environment.