Scaling up trajectories?

I’m thinking about the trajectory work of Steve Benford (Yes, I know I’ve been doing this for a while).  Trajectories offer a way of thinking about the design of extended user experiences.  I’m wondering if we can scale that up for thinking about the role of computing in societal change.

Last week we interviewed Hordur Torfason (leader of the Icelandic Cutlery Revolution – link coming soon).   The week before that we talked with Prof Bill Harris (expert on the Middle East). Both of these areas have seen a close relationship between the revolutions (and consequent supposed citizen-led society – with varying degrees of sucess) and the internet.   These discussions have me wondering about describing the pathway of a whole society and its interaction with technology in terms of Steve’s trajectories but at a larger scale.  Just a thought for the long weekend.