Introduction

Hi Everyone,

My name is Andrew and I am a a college graduate in the U.S.

This will be a simple introduction post to summarize my thoughts and goals at the time of creating this account.

Due to the creation of the internet and many other advancements in technology I believe the next few decades will be a crucial time for humanity. Social networks are becoming an echo chamber for progressive ideology. Mobile phones are continually expanding our ability to access information, communicate with others and interact with our environment. Large quantities of data are being collected and analyzed electronically that provide us with answers to questions we could have never imagined 10 years ago.

I believe that we all, as human beings, need to work together to use this technology to improve our communities and the lives of each and every person. We must create new opportunities for each person to become educated, find work and live a fulfilling life. We must use technology to continue to improve the most basic human rights (food, shelter, safety, healthcare). We must implement measures to eliminate violence and inhumane acts. We need to create social networking platforms that allow people throughout the world to share ideas, news, and scientific discoveries; while providing methods to verify the validity of each source. Most important, will be the preservation of each persons privacy as each human identity is integrated into an online world.

I will not pretend to be an expert on any of the ideas I suggest or topics I discuss. My intention is to publish my ideas in order to receive feedback from others within the community. I also hope that by publishing these ideas other people are able to use them to think critically about how we can unite and make the world a better place. To further illustrate my point here is a quote from the movie Inception:

Cobb: An idea is like a virus, resilient, highly contagious. ... Once an idea has taken hold of the brain it's almost impossible to eradicate. An idea that is fully formed - fully understood - that sticks; right in there somewhere.

This quote has a negative connotation in the movie but I feel that in this situation, when this concept is applied to critically thinking about ways to improve the world we live in, it becomes positive. We all have the opportunity to share our ideas through platforms like Facebook and Steemit. Ideally, the best ideas will spread and influence the decisions of larger groups of people.

I plan to create weekly posts with new ideas for using technology to improve communities and the lives of individuals within those communities. This may change over time and it is at best a general overview of the posts that I will begin to share. I hope that by sharing my thoughts I can have a positive effect on the world. No matter how small of an effect that is.