We are the connected not the collected

Collectives are part of the machinery of the previous era.
They assume the priority of the group over the individual
and a joint identity that’s shared by all its members.
Hierarchies thrive in collectives.

But an entirely different kind of logic is emerging in our networked culture …

In a connective, it’s the selfish yet common goals of individuals that allow a distributed network to self-organize around a common task. Identity in a connective is in a process of continuous renewal, emerging from each individual’s immediate ability to contribute to the common task.

Connectives co-operate.
Collectives collaborate … co-labor.

Wikipedia is a collective (hence the brutal hierarchies).
Delicious is a connective.

A connective is neither the group
nor the individual
but a transcending
that encompasses (and denies) both simultaneously.

We are Me.