“the currency of the 21st century is information” highlights the growing importance of data and knowledge in our rapidly-evolving digital world. For the last 5 years, the rise of encryption and cryptocurrencies is on aspect of this trend, reflecting a growing concern for privacy and the secure exchange of information.

The unspoken liberal individualism and private property ideas that come with encryption and cryptocurrencies is a market-based approach that prioritizes exploitation, greed, and selfishness. In contrast, #4opens can be seen as promoting connection, cooperation, and altruism.

The concept of a #4opens approach, which prioritizes connection, cooperation, and trust, represents an alternative to the market-based approach and highlights the importance of social norms and values in shaping the technology we use.

There is a divide between the “soft power” of social norms and the “hard power” of code in the #geekproblem, and the challenge is to find ways to talk about these issues and bring them into the #mainstreaming discourse.