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Now the danger looms in harnessing the opinions of the global masses. Move aside the polling that delivered 'whatever you want to hear', and Focus Groups that created 'hand-holding co-dependant, out of focus opinions'. Here comes the Global Billion E-Vote Machine. The current 18-month play on the Seven Wonders by Bernard Weber, a Swiss filmmaker, museum curator and first to express the "first global exercise of democracy", whose project permitted duplicated votes which ballooned to 100 Million, has now created a new benchmark. Now that the BCC has recently banned telephone-voting, following some large scandals and concerns over various online voting contests, one only wonders what will occur during the next American Idol or the US election in November 2008.

Overall, we exist in a turbulent, highly-interconnected and hyper-accelerated unstoppable journey on fast forward, where the mind becomes number with increased speed and action, blurred direction, tickling the sub-conscious and taking us far away from ground realities. The stage is set, and the greater struggle of current times to create the next wonder of the world is on. Then again, the most amazing question asked during any visit to an ancient ruin is often what the supreme command was really thinking.

These mass communication methods often used by polls and focus groups, often designed to issue mind-altering opinions to reconstruct truth has always been a prime principal of propaganda machines throughout history. Short blasts of highly intense and strategic propaganda have altered perceptions and crafted illusions, which can easily dilute the image branding process of mega issues, when caught in the crossfire.

Just when you thought the massive influx of cell phones were settled as simple pocket devices for calling, a new function emerges, making each phone a portable-voting-booth. Embrace yourself for strange and random resolutions passed by the global populace via their impulsive voting habits derived from reality TV shows.

We have created an online public democracy, where public opinion can be expressed in extraordinary ways, as the next one-billion-citizen poll on another global issue is already in progress, this raises the big questions: Should untraceable digital democracy reflect public opinion? Let's e-vote on it.

Concluded.

Naseem Javed, recognized as a world authority on corporate image and global name identities, is a harsh critic of casual and accidental naming. He is a dynamic speaker on corporate image and branding issues, and is also the author of Naming for Power. He founded ABC Namebank International, an image and branding consultancy over 25 years ago.
Website: www.abcnamebank.com