In the 19th and 20th centuries,  societies were shaped by philosophers and the beaujouis class. In 2010, the technologists and the "public" have taken reign - or so it seems.

During the earlier days of the internet, experts cited the 1% rule which proposes that more people will "lurk" in a virtual community than actually participate. Specifically, the theory states that "1% of people create content, 9% edit or modify that content, and 90% view the content without contributing." The theory, however, fails to include the number of people that  cannot access virtual spheres because of age, poverty, technophobia, etc. What begins to emerge is a clear, shocking picture of a reality that is hidden by first world assumptions: Everyone is on the net and everyone is equally represented. In fact, the internet is still just as elitis as the real world.

In a post web 2.0 world, I highly suspect that the "content creators" to "content consumer" ratio is still imbalanced. However, the 1% rule may not really reflect the nature of the internet, but rather reflect the nature of our species.

Theories similar to the 1% rule exist in other fields. In statistics, the Pareto Principle, or the 80-20 rule, states that 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. In economics, you find the idea of wealth condensation. Additionally,  the principle of least effort, which is embraced by numerous fields, states that people will choose the path of least resistance or effort.

Channeling Nietzsche, these theories seem to imply that in fact we are herd animals, where the majority seem to be okay with following, while a small percentage "lead." Our human nature and instincts are only "amplified" through technology. Power structures may have shifted to individuals that posses different type of skills and, in many ways, technonology has allowed those structures to be more accessible but, at the end of the day, a glass ceiling still exists that affects the "traditional" disempowered groups. Additionally, an individual still needs the same traditional tools to be part of that power structure: education/knowledge, money, networks, power, communications skills.

I would argue that technology's greatest achievement has been to provide a us with a good visualization of the complex and sophisticated power structures present in our global community. In other words, the web provides us with the ability to view the network of power structures present in the world, and how they connect with each other.

The Geeks Era

It seems logical to think that if main stream cutlure is being transformed by web culture, that this 1% is significantly responsible for these changes.  In some regard, their ethics, perspectives and culture have infiltrated the mainstream.  While more tools are available to empower non-technical, normal users, this 1% is responsible for instigating the cultural changes we are witnessing and, most importantly, influencing our daily information consumption.

I do believe that this web elite is in many ways more ethical than lets say old skool publishing families. However, any analytical human being should be aware of the common characteristics that one could attribute to this group. I mean, they are affecting how you communicate with your loved ones, what you consider valuable, and how you inerpret events and information.

The following are the charateristics I see. They will be described in depth and thus linked to in new posts describing each charateristic. 

Libertarian

Linear and Ultra Logical Thinking

Short Communication Style

Anti "Traditional" Social Tendencies

Logical Humanitarianism