Where's Big Ears?

Little Noddy

The rapid take-up of online services that depend upon social interaction seems to be a defining feature of Web 2.0. Similarly as TV becomes more interest-focused, audience participation becomes crucial. Interactivity has become a buzz word. Yet despite the fact that there’s an increase in communicational capacity there doesn’t seem to be a corresponding increase in content or, for that matter a great deal of novelty. Sparked off by this discussion, I’ve been thinking about how blogs (including this one) recycle ideas or talk to a relatively small network of people. Despite the capacity of new media to empower people and contribute to social change, the reality often falls short of the mark. In trying to compete in the attention economy, are compromises made? Narrow-casting to networked individuals could end up creating cocoons of apolitical isolates.