Disclaimer – this is not a shot at the USA on its birthday. This is not a political commentary because this is the Marketing Edge podcast and Blog. I hope it will be a quick eye opener to acknowledge that the citizens of America and the world, live in an interdependent world.

Let’s separate Independence the apple pie, flag waving idea from independent growth.

Independence is the beautiful way Americans have been able to worship as they choose, to roam our vast land without “papers” (with some exceptions over our very short history), to assemble, start a business, build an idea into reality, have children etc. etc. etc. That’s our society, warts and all that we choose to celebrate today. I’m in favor of it. Happy Birthday.

Now let’s look at independent growth. This is the notion that we glamorize for individuals who achieve certain levels of accomplishment. You know top ten lists, richest people, All-Star teams, A, B, C, and D Listers. We love to refine things and people to lists, without appreciating how those on the list came to be, how they were impacted by other people and events.

The social web has put a spotlight on the amazing gifts we give to each other, some of which contribute to personal gain and recognition. The concept that we learn from others in this or past generations is not new. One that comes to mind today is the electrical engineer Nikola Tesla whose work was trumped by Thomas Edison in his day, is the foundation for today’s energy saving light bulbs.

Let’s apply that interdependent concept in the area of social media authors. For example. today’s social media thinking by Charlene Li of Altimeter Group on Open Leadership, a wonderful book about the new participating consumer and how companies can embrace them. It’s a premise based on the work of Shel Israel and Robert Scoble in Naked Conversations or the Cluetrain Manifesto Rick Levine, Christopher Locke, Doc Searls, David Weinberger, and McKee Jake. Can we trace some of this thinking to Ralph Nader and his early consumer empowerment? On the marketing side do we owe some recognition to Neil McElroy the Procter and Gamble marketing executive who advocated the concept of brand managers, market segmentation, and several brands under the same parent company?

How about that patio furniture, your sitting on or the grill, or lawn chair at today’s Bar-b-que. My bet is one of them was made by a worker earning $5 a day instead of $10 or more an hour. (Not a political statement just an economic fact of life) What about the house, car, boat for today’s activities, likely owned by a bank now or at some point in the past. This consumerism and ownership is based on the interdependence of individuals and institutions.

America is a nation built on economic and intellectual interdependence. Our roots grew on blood and sweat of willing and unwilling Europeans, Africans, and native Americans (for the most part). Independence – “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

In pursuit of these rights we are an interdependent people of the world. Social media brings this to light with each minute on twitter, each shared cause on Facebook, each entry in Wikipedia, and on and on. It has never be clearer to me that our Independence is based on our interdependence which is now expanding beyond our nation as the social web grows. Our fast-paced society likes to pedal short lists of everything, from recipes to
people. I hope that with every list read today, there is a mental asterisk with the caption *this list compliments of the contributions of many other individuals.

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