Gin, Television and Social Surplus

I just discovered a fantastic article by Clay Shirky called ‘Gin, Television and Social Surplus’, about society’s changing attitudes towards the media.

Shirky believes that the transition from a populace that consumes media to one that produces it and interacts with it is both significant and irreversible. It’s really good.

“I was having dinner with a group of friends about a month ago, and one of them was talking about sitting with his four-year-old daughter watching a DVD. And in the middle of the movie, apropos nothing, she jumps up off the couch and runs around behind the screen. That seems like a cute moment. Maybe she’s going back there to see if Dora is really back there or whatever. But that wasn’t what she was doing. She started rooting around in the cables. And her dad said, “What you doing?” And she stuck her head out from behind the screen and said, “Looking for the mouse.”

Here’s something four-year-olds know: A screen that ships without a mouse ships broken. Here’s something four-year-olds know: Media that’s targeted at you but doesn’t include you may not be worth sitting still for.”