Synergistic Feedforward

Since it was pointed out to me by @caseorganic at sxsw, I’ve been delving into The Information Society as Post Industrial Society by Masuda.  It a fascinating look from back in 1980 of where we are emerging today.  The gold within the read for me has been his notion of the synergistic feedforward.

Definition: “The ‘synergistic feedforward‘ means that the subject of action and the external environment are in mutually complementary relations and act together to reach a common objective.” pg 132

Musada’s vision places the technological age into the context of human history, recognizing the power of our digital information that does not disappear with use.  He also recognizes quite rightly “that the utility of information will become more and more orientated toward the public interest because of the great number of people who are able to use it.” pg. 135

What does it mean in practical terms?  Well, consider the retweet in Twitter.  Consider the rss feeds, or the unique ways that friendfeed or squidoo can reposition content.  Consider how tinyurl’s do not expire, how search keeps all our content retrievable.  These are synergistic feedforward systems we use daily, like putting butter on toast.