It's been 3 month since Facebook staff updated their layout to the latest incarnation--the one dubbed 'The Publisher'--the one we all used right now. The funny thing is, every time Mark Zuckerberg & co released new layout upon the site, there were always, ALWAYS, some groups of people voice their sound against it (don't mistake me, I've been in Facebook since 2007, almost 2 years now) I did a little search just some minutes later with the keyword 'new layout', and guess what I found:
There are many groups established to rally a support against Facebook's new layout (and I reckon many friends of mine joined in them, too...hehehe). According to my experience since 2007, Facebook had updated their layout, like, 3 times till now. And in each updates, those 'status quo' supporter always popped up again and again to scream their protests. "Bring Back The Old Facebook", "New Layout Sucks", "Against Facebook's New Layout", etc, etc. Of course people always had the right to indulge in their comfort zone and staying with the old. But what exactly is the pain of accepting change and new idea? To the close minded, the pain would be much and unbearable. To let go something that's been familiar with us--well, it required an effort, and open-mindedness. It urges us to form a new way of thinking, a new paradigm.
Notice something in those 'status-quo-lover' groups, they named themselves "2,000,000 People to Protest", "Millions to Hate New Facebook Layout" ...well, here's something I gotta tell you: communal protests, street revolutions, mass demonstrations, they ran out of place in this new century. Marxist revolutions won't work anymore. Today's power, it's not in the arms of many, it's in the arms of the minority. The dedicated, visionaries minority are the one who'll shape the world in future. Labor organization with 10,000 people could easily be smashed with one clever provocative person, right? See how Mark Zuckerberg ignore the protest and move on with those new layouts (not just once, but many times.)
‘The soft-minded man always fears change. He feels security in the status quo, and he has an almost morbid fear of the new. For him, the greatest pain is the pain of a new idea.’
— Martin Luther King Jr.
From the micro-sized topic of the Facebook layout thingy, let’s broaden our topic, because frankly, all I want to discuss here was about change. The only thing that's constant in our world. Except time and change, nothing lasts forever in this world. Remember Darwinian evolution that encouraged us not to stay with the status quo, not to accept the things as they were before and as they are right now, rather we have to accept things as they will become. The strongest is not the one who'll survive, nor the most intelligent, it's the most adaptable who'll seize the day. 2,000,000 people with their strong will and loud voice might make a change, but imagine how long does it take to convince and find another 1,999,999 people who shared the same idea with you? Quantity can be beaten by quality, David can beat Goliath. The least minority--the ones who react correctly to situation--they are the masters of war. They’re the one who can turn the tide on the battle, because they had what others don’t: correct tools and instrument. See how Mark Zuckerberg stay deaf eared to the protestor, because in the end, Mark is the one who possess the tool, the instrument to change the whole Facebook layout and Terms of Service. He’s just one guy with a small army of programmer backed him up, but he can spread influence to 200 million Facebook users around the world. He successfully turn the tide of the battle, he won in the war of one against many.
The idea is, today’s world is totally different from yesterday. And how stupid it was for us to keep looking back to the past, without so much looking ahead. The past may served us some deep meanings for our next step, but that’s that: we had to move on. Status quo may gave us security, comfort and sense of belongings, but it is merely an illusion, a temporary state, because in the end, it'll change. There's no point in resisting change, there's no use in tackling new ideas. Accept them, and change with them. Be responsive and adaptable, and you may continue to live.
(now, look what happened to those protesting groups in Facebook right now:)
1,497 fewer members, huh? Well, time's a CHANGING, buddy! :-)
‘Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for changes.’
— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
No comments:
Post a Comment