Home > Ne(x)t > Archives > 2006 > December > 17 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USIt’s all about you
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The blogosphere exploded this weekend after Time magazine named “you” as their Person of the Year. By “you” Time meant those contributing user-generated content to the Web – blogging, video sharing and participating in online social networks.
As expected, some champions of social networking were skeptical of Time’s cover. One went so far as to suggest Time was “link baiting” – trying to boost page views by generating social media buzz. Elsewhere, influential new media veteran Jeff Jarvis wrote at Buzz Machine: “Well, I suppose I should give Time some credit for recognizing the power of the people. Only thing is, there’s no news here. This is nothing new. We have always been in charge.”
I would amend Jarvis’ statement: “We have (had the potential to have) always been in charge.”
If the users are in charge, why are so many prominent blogs recycled versions of news stories? At this writing, more than 50 bloggers are weighing in on Time magazine’s report at Techmeme, a site aggregating the day’s buzz among Web 2.0 bloggers. Most days, the blogosphere merely parrots or challenges mainstream media stories. Tonight is no exception.
My take? No offense, people, but not all of “you” are deserving of recognition. The honor is best suited to a small segment of the online world — those willing to participate, whether it’s a silly homespun video on YouTube, ranking news stories on Digg, or writing thoughtful postings on a subject near to your heart. A relatively small percentage of the online audience actively creates content; the vast majority are simply consumers.
For every video of a goofball skateboarding with his pants on fire, there is a large audience of passive users simply watching and moving on to the next selection in the online feast. Social networking has a long way to go before reaching the level that Jarvis idealizes.
Somehow, I believe this world of social media could be more meaningful. In between bad video, snarky comments and shallow, self-centered content, opportunities exist for true communication between communities of users. Many of those opportunities will be lost until users reject the worst of the Web and demand something new.
Then “you” will really have changed the world.
Comments
By Andrew Sulivan
December 21, 2006 05:16 AM | Link to this
Blogging sucks.