Owners, Players, Spectators...

I found myself looking at an interesting stream on LinkedIn on our relationship with Google around learning that had generated over a thousand comments, a number that caught my attention.

I thought about the post as a football, and those commenting as variously owners, for whom the topic was important enough to want to define the game, or as players shape the game, or as spectators who cheer or shout from the sidelines.

It struck me how many are just trying to make a noise from the sidelines, and to be seen in the crowd, and how few are willing to commit to a position, and how many fewer still are trying to define the game. Is it one of the aspects of sociual media, that we can jeer or shout, without taking part?

I think the same holds true for many of the issues we are facing. There are a few "owners" who will assume responsibility for defining the game, from climate change to AI, who are prepared to lead, and deal with what comes their way, and risk public failure. Then we have the pla…