I have been wondering for a while about my lack of desire on some days to 'surf' the web in that 1999 style of old. Googling random topics to see where I go. Spending hours looking at random sites in fascination.All that has gone, and I think I have worked out why.
You remember having 4/5 tv channels, you always found something to watch. Then multi channel tv came along, and it was a realm of choice, every possible subject and whim catered for through the wonders of satellite technology.
Then we got settled, then we chose favourites, then we flicked... we flicked some more... then we never stopped flicking. Our standards became so high that suddenly that half interesting documentary or obscure Indian film became wastage instead of the only thing on. We said 'there's nothing on!' even though there clearly was lots of things on.
Well that's what is happening to the net. Facebook, twitter, blip, blogger, your news site... thats it. You are done. No time left to random surf, and even then you do it on wikipedia.
iGoogle makes it worse, you don't even need to go looking for stuff. It's all right there.
Web 2.0 has become multi channel tv. Suffering from our RSS favourite comfort zones.
8 comments:
i actually think this is a positive move, rather than a replication of mindlessness. we know what we like to read and we read it. we discover far more slowly nowdays - through links and gradual appearance of new things to read. rather than some crazy hoovering off all the new stuff. i'm quite enjoying the number of feeds i have at the moment - it means i don't even need a tv, i rarely watch you tube and reading the paper means so much more.
Give someone ultimate choice and they always fall back on a set agenda of topics ... it's human nature which is why theory and reality don't always live in the same house.
but it does take away the serendipity factor of it all. If you just follow the same blips, tweets and what not you will probalby move in circles. so to make a concious effort to break out of comfort is the basis of discovery. as A planner you should be doing that, as a critical thinker in general you should be doing that.
Lauren: You should read Nicholas Taleb, he is up your media habits alley all the way.
Rob: they do live in the same house, but like any married couple talk against eachother instead of with eachother.
By the way, the client is the landlord and does not care. He just wants to know when the money will eb delivered
Mr M, great post btw
Can you stop taking drugs please Nicky-to-the-H :)
Thanks for some interesting replies!
I certainly agree about breaking out of comfort as a planner; I certainly do a lot of exploring. But some days (at home specifically) I have noticed that change.
There is something interesting about the time we live in, and the technology and media we have available to us that makes the way we use different media somewhat different to any other generation. And likewise the generation younger than us are growing up with the internet as always there, there will be lots of interest in looking at how they see the world compared to us, who still appreciate what the world was like before the net.
ha focking ha, till the gates of hell Campbell !!
sorry for swearing mr M. it's just for cinametic effect
Big talk from the foreigner :)
Don't make me send the Bra Boys after you Rob..
Yeah I got connects down under as well...
Post a Comment