The modern computer desktop lacks a focus on community. As a result from the instant their computer is connected to the net "users" are swept away into an endless sea of of data, trivia, and distractive content. One might argue that the net has become a solvent for true community, flooding us instead with entertainment, loose affiliations, and data smog.
I don't blame the net though. Where does our desktop lead us? Or, to replay a nauseating ad campaign from eons ago, "Where do you want to go today?" (Hint: Someone else decided that already for most people. Think monopoly.)
I've seen some of this first-hand. Perhaps you have too. An experiment: Walk into a major public library and observe what most users of public computers are doing. Based on my data it's Facebook, YouTube, Farmville, some free web mail, and maybe a few other "amusements". Is this the net sum of all the work that we've done to build the internet and its associated infrastructure? (Yes, we built it.) Is our legacy a fancy TV? An advertising delivery mechanism?
Let's imagine something more interesting.
Ubuntu is a human-centric project and system. Its desktop should provide a richer experience than that offered by the competition. And, true to its ethos, it should endeavor to strengthen the ties between a user, her family, her close friends, and her true community.
Ubuntu's desktop should not only be a means to get more data and entertainment. It should also be expression of self ("Me"). (Through hard work, we've made some progress there). Now, the Ubuntu desktop should also be extended to be an expression of our connectedness and our humanity ("We"). It should allow us to find and connect with others nearby in meaningful, useful, and sustainable ways. It should do this simply. It should lead us.
In short, Ubuntu should be finely tuned to help ensure that local community flourishes again. Let's figure out an elegant way to do that before someone else does.