Comments on: thought-provoking quote: social surplus http://phobeo.com/blog/2008/04/30/thought-provoking-quote-social-surplus/ "..though this be madness, yet there's method in't.." Fri, 18 May 2012 16:08:48 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: po http://phobeo.com/blog/2008/04/30/thought-provoking-quote-social-surplus/#comment-2045 po Tue, 06 May 2008 14:29:34 +0000 http://phobeo.com/blog/2008/04/30/thought-provoking-quote-social-surplus/#comment-2045 Shirky is so good at pinpointing catchy statistics that make you gasp - I hate to sound like a super cynic but Neil Postman's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death" rel="nofollow">Amusing Ourselves to Death</a> as early as 1985 has illuminated how televisions and the rising entertaining industry might potentially draw empty, unrelated soundbytes into the public. Television and Wikipedia (the internet), all in all, are just not comparable mediums. One hour spent on watching television is definitely not the same as one hour editing Wikpedia - at the very least they come from dramatically different populations. What's more interesting is my American friend's assertion that in recent years because of the whole Iraq/CreditCrunch gloomy atmosphere, American television is further driving themselves into the Escapist regime (think Hero, Lost, American Next Top Model, American Idol). On top of this, Wikipedia editors are not 'the public'. I am constantly amazed by how <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:List_of_Wikipedians_by_number_of_edits/latest" rel="nofollow">'human beings'</a> can edit this much on Wikipedia... (minus the bots, of course). And duh, hour statistics never cease to excite geeks :) Shirky is so good at pinpointing catchy statistics that make you gasp - I hate to sound like a super cynic but Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death as early as 1985 has illuminated how televisions and the rising entertaining industry might potentially draw empty, unrelated soundbytes into the public. Television and Wikipedia (the internet), all in all, are just not comparable mediums. One hour spent on watching television is definitely not the same as one hour editing Wikpedia - at the very least they come from dramatically different populations.

What’s more interesting is my American friend’s assertion that in recent years because of the whole Iraq/CreditCrunch gloomy atmosphere, American television is further driving themselves into the Escapist regime (think Hero, Lost, American Next Top Model, American Idol).

On top of this, Wikipedia editors are not ‘the public’.
I am constantly amazed by how ‘human beings’ can edit this much on Wikipedia… (minus the bots, of course).

And duh, hour statistics never cease to excite geeks :)

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