It's not just that the Internet has changed everything, but that it has given us a chance to feed our egos like never before in the new era of Me Media. Sure it's true that user generated content found on blogs, podcasts, and social networking sites like MySpace allow for greater creative expression, increased democratic participation, and more individual control over media distribution.
But if the majority of that activity is all about me, and feeds my personal desire to have people pay attention to yours truly, then the new media is becoming less a tool for connection and sharing and more an amateur talent show. For example, take NBC's launch last week of a new show that allows individuals to upload photos and video and create their own mini productions for possible airing during a daily broadcast. While it's great that more unknowns will now have a shot at sharing their talents with the world, I have a sinking feeling that the content generated by such shows will not rise much above the "look at what crazy things I will do" YouTube standard.
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| Are we really so insecure that we need to waste the power and potential of Web 2.0 to lavish more attention on ourselves? Are new, interactive technologies improving and enhancing public access to information and entertainment or simply enabling a media feeding frenzy of narcissism? Isn't our culture already self-centered enough?
If we continue down this pathway, one frightening scenario is a fixation on MeTV, Me Radio, and MeMovie that will further push aside intelligent journalism, high quality entertainment, and an objective media. Instead of just having more customized news, information and advertising, our daily "ego-feeds" will make us the stars of every show.
Our self-worship is only encouraged further by current trends in advertising. Services like Agloco will compete for our attention, and pay us for viewing individually tailored ads, so that we only ever see what is apparently relevant to us and nobody else. Thus the message that all that matters is me will be reinforced at every turn on the Internet.
Think, for example, of a splash page on your computer, TV, or mobile device that opens with information like your heart rate, local discounts on your favorite chewing gum, the location of friends and people like you, and the latest movie starring you alongside Tom Cruise.
Far from opening up the whole world to us, the Internet is simultaneously moving in an isolationist, self-obsessed direction. I wonder what a global economy will look like when each of us is our own globe?
Of course, not everyone will choose to elevate themselves on the pedestal of Me Media. There are lots of people in the world who look out for more than number one, and who are actively leveraging technology and the media for the greater good.
As for the rest, I suppose many media and Web 2.0 innovators are just giving people more of what they want...themselves.
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