Saturday, May 12, 2007
Engage the World
Reading the Vanity Fair article YouTube Election, I was reminded of both the usefulness as well as the mindlessness of the Internet as a medium of communication. As a distance-learning tool and digital archive of public affairs, it is unsurpassed. As a location for virtual activism, it can be a trap for concerned but unconnected participants unable to escape mediated life.
As I observed in an earlier commentary, blogging is a means to community, not an end in itself. For that one needs to get up and go outside.
Unless we want more than exceptionally creative cynicism or debilitating dismay, the web--like other alternative media--becomes a substitute for living. Better to walk around and talk to real people. Engage the world.
As I observed in an earlier commentary, blogging is a means to community, not an end in itself. For that one needs to get up and go outside.
Unless we want more than exceptionally creative cynicism or debilitating dismay, the web--like other alternative media--becomes a substitute for living. Better to walk around and talk to real people. Engage the world.
