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On the surface, hyperempowerment sounds like an intrisically awesome thing. It’s an ideal for democracy, each individual participating to their true, ever increasing potential. A related concept I have heard is that social networking makes us better people faster. I think that the corrollary of this, that social networking can make us worse people, faster is important for us to address. Hyperintelligences can manifest as Wikipedia, Al Qaeda and everything in between.

With a modernist conception of discrete individuals, the people composing a network dictate its character. A growing body of evidence invalidates this model, revealing a much more complex body of relations at play. The spirits of our networks feed into us at least as much as we contribue back.

Social networks influence our happiness, our weight, our sociability and possibly every aspect of our personalities. The effects happen out-of-awareness and extend beyond the domains of specific communities. As individuals exploring and extending ourselves into these territories, conscious appreciation of these points supports our well-being. By associating with groups that lift us up, we do ourselves and those in our life a service.

Taking it further, can an individual utilize this awareness in the engineering of hyperintelligence? @mpesce consciously guided the beginning of Share This Course to develop socialization and trust amongst us. What strategies and traits might increase health, have a vivogenic impact, not only on the individual participants, but on the ecological system of hyperintelligences?

Further Reading:
Keith Hampton’s research into the impact of social networks on individuals and communities
Connected: The Surprising Power of Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives by Nicholas Christakis & James Fowler