I originally saw this commencement address in print. Even though it was offered on the author’s Web site, I have to admit, my first thought was that it was a joke. Could it be true that they really have High Schools in the Eastern United States named things like Shady Side? As it turns out, yes. I mean no offense to the alumni, students, or staff of this school. I’m sure it is a fine institution, particularly if it produced the likes of the esteemed Jonathan Zittrain. I have read Professor Zittrain’s most recent book. I have also seen him speak a few times. If he is ever giving a lecture in your area, go. I guarantee you will be entertained.

In any event, once I got beyond my bias, I had a chance to watch the speech in its entirety on YouTube. I recommend you take the time to watch this twenty minute address. It is an intriguing view of where we find ourselves at this point in our journey through the digital ecosystem and where a worthy scholar on the topic thinks we are heading.

I watch amazed as the events in Iran unfold. Who knows how this will turn out. More often than not, the common people do not fair well when they stand opposed to a tyrannical regime but I have hope. The eyes of the world are upon them. My eyes are upon them. These are not my enemies. The people of Iran look all too human to me. They do not appear to be the ghastly nuclear bomb building “other”. When I see the pictures and look in their faces, I see my neighbors, my family. Their expressions of fear, hope, and defiance bind me to them. I am empathetic. I hope for their safety and well being. I yearn for their freedom.

I have watched similar events in my lifetime; the civil rights movement in the U.S., Prague Spring, Wounded Knee, the fall of the Berlin Wall,  the end of apartheid in South Africa, and the Tiananmen Square Protest. But, one incident stands out quite vividly in my memory, the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago. I was in 8th grade, 14 years old I think. Vice President Hubert Humphrey was about to receive the nomination of the party for the Presidency of the U.S. I still think he would have made a good President. Instead, we elected Richard Nixon. To place this political convention in context, four years earlier Lyndon Johnson had steamrolled Barry Goldwater with over 61% of the popular vote. And now the power brokers of this political machine were preparing to win the presidency again. Outside in the streets of Chicago, however, the people had other ideas. A very unpopular war was being waged by the United States in Southeast Asia. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was not yet producing inclusion for the disenfranchised. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in April of 1968 and Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in June of 1968.  Other massive riots occurred that summer in the U.S.

The riots of Chicago in 1968 are particularly memorable for me because they were well covered. All of the major news organizations were present and the eyes of the world were upon them, both those in power and those in the streets. Then the chant began, “the whole world is watching!” And, we were.

Now, I am not watching this on television. Major television networks were slow to pick up the story. And now, the Iranian government is taking the camera away from big media. I am watching through Twitter. If this is new to you, there is a pretty good post on Mashable about how to use it to watch the unfolding events in Iran. Currently, my client refreshes about every 30 seconds and chirps 40 and 50 new messages at a time from #iranelection. Pictures, video, and reports are coming through from people on the streets in Iran by the second. The Iranian government is trying to stop it but it is hard to gather up devices that can be carried in your front pocket. A cell phone is all that is needed to report to the world. Other people in the world are watching and suggesting ways to keep the channels of communication open.

The right to be free is powerful. People have and are giving their lives for it. There is a change in this event, however. The people of the world are talking and listening to each other. A communication revolution is underway. Common people see their brothers and sisters trampled and will not remain silent. The whole world is watching and tweeting.

I graduated on Friday from U Dub with a Masters of Communication in Digital Media (MCDM). I actually found myself mourning the potential loss of intellectual stimulation (translate as brain candy) that I will be missing from my regularly scheduled classes. Will I have the discipline to stay current? I’m also going to miss my weekly meetings with people I have come to think of as good friends.

Fortunately for me, my study was Digital Media. I have given myself the opportunity to stay on the cutting edge of brain candy at any time and I can stay in touch with my good friends…blow by blow.

My true advantage is that I chose to study what I love. I could no sooner leave this area of study than I could stop breathing. A revolution is occuring all around us and I intend to stay connected. We are watching the democratization of innovation and communication. Some might argue that communication has been democratized for some time. Perhaps so, but not like this. Governments, corporations, religions, and institutions of all kinds no longer have the control they once had. We have moved from a “read only” to a “read/write” culture.

Thanks to all who joined me in the past two years. I look forward to what the revolution has in store for us all.