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Loading ...While reading one of my new favorite blogs yesterday, White African, I came across this video of a presentation by Clay Shirky talking about his new book, Here Comes Everybody
I found the speech rather interesting, and I will have to try and get my hands on his book when I get back to the USA. In fact, I had never heard of Mr. Shirky until reading this blog post.
His main argument is that we have historically tried to find ways to fill our leisure time - first with gin, then with TV, and now with social media. In fact he quotes the fact that in the internet connected part of the world we collectively spend “roughly 1 trillion hours” watching TV. Heck, that is a lot of time. And he goes on to make the argument that if the internet and social media can garner just 1 percent of that time from TV we have the potential for a radical shift.
Why is this shift important? Because what this new media offers is participation - it allows me to write this blog and share it with all of you. It allows people to make videos, and share projects of all types. Basically to participate. Shirky points out that so far we have collectively spent 100 million hours of “human thought” building wikipedia.
I find this really interesting. What does this means for marketing, for products, for ideas and for collective citizenry? I agree with him, that we will always enjoy our TV shows - but maybe the younger generation will be much more into the “interactive” media. The type where they can affect it - kind of like “theater sports”.
Whatever the outcome it changes the landscape. It follows that we will have more and more participation - not all of it will produce good, and useful things. But, it will allow us to use our “free time” differently, and at the very least create the possibility for constructive engagement - at least part of the time, which TV never allowed us to do.
I say watch out TV world - you better come up with some new ideas.
Filed under: Abraham Harrison LLC
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