I attended a talk last night for the book "The Future of the Internet and How To Stop It", it seems like it'll be a good a book and I hope to get to it soon.

One topic that stood out for me was the notion of Generative vs Tethered systems. My cursory understanding of this is that generative systems do not assign a particular meaning or strict path to a desired outcome. Think things like Google Health or Android as an example of this..

Tethered systems are ones that are proprietary and limit the possible ways one could interact with them. Examples of this might be a application or device for a specific task or even developing for the iPhone, as while anyone can make an application, in order for mass distribution it requires a specific platform target, approval from Apple and must meet a set of criteria .

By extension I think there are some pretty accessible examples of generative vs. tethered systems and some that are more hybrid in nature from the experiential standpoint I can think of. Flickr is a great example of this kind of hybrid web application. At its core there is a very simple things it does: enables you to upload a picture or video and share it. But the creative and social aspects happens after the photo is uploaded. Once uploaded the system is very open, you can use your photo and others photos in many ways on many channels. However, the photo ultimately lives on Flickr. Flickr has the power to delete your photo, shut down your account, or even hold your photos hostage if you don't comply to their rules.

I think this is what we see more of as we become more dependent on systems to house our information and I think it will be interesting to see how we deal with this paradox of having more freedom and control to create meaning through cloud-based information while losing control of our information and privacy. Being exposed to more memes on social networks and at some point wondering what idea and opinion is authentically your own and what was gleaned from your peers because it is popular opinion.

Will this make us more creative or less creative? It will be interesting to see what happens.