Category Archives: Analysis and Impact

Has Social Media Ruined the Internet?

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I missed "Why this Decade Sucked," by Ed Edroso, back in December. Wish I hadn't. While it's over the top in spots, by and large, it's spot on,  and reminds me of Norman Solomon's words in the mid 90s, when he quite rightly warned that the Internet would empower the status quo, while projecting a mass delusion that it was challenging it.

"We should have known from blogging's early successes what was really going to become of it. Those successes were not about enlightenment — elucidating issues, or spurring debate — but about taking down public figures obnoxious to bloggers."
 

Why Twitter matters, and why it will endure.

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In "Why Twitter Will Endure,"  New York Time's education and media czar, David Carr, writes perhaps the best overall description of Twitter and its overall value to civilization, better than anyone I've read in quite awhile. It's still not going to help your grandma understand Twitter, but it may help any of your friends or family who still scratch their heads and wonder why we're all sitting in front of our Twitter streams, discussing our favorite bagels and dietary supplements.

Carr confirms my previous assertions that only people who use Twitter every day, and understand many aspects of media and technology, are qualified to have any opinion about Twitter that's actually worth reading. Everyone else is just a user, and their views should be relegated to that user feedback site that Twitter still doesn't have.