Tuesday, March 25, 2008
James Frey is Her Co-Pilot
Oh, SNAP!
For all the talk about how the 'net has dis-empowered the mass media, there's another side which this story shows--the power of the echo. If a story doesn't gain immediate traction in the old broadcast model, it basically ceases to exist. As more gets archived, though, the opportunities to keep it alive, and resuscitate it, grow exponentially as people pass YouTube links around.
I'm also reminded of Lincoln, who in a speech to Congress discussed his own meager military record thus:
Oh, SNAP!
For all the talk about how the 'net has dis-empowered the mass media, there's another side which this story shows--the power of the echo. If a story doesn't gain immediate traction in the old broadcast model, it basically ceases to exist. As more gets archived, though, the opportunities to keep it alive, and resuscitate it, grow exponentially as people pass YouTube links around.
I'm also reminded of Lincoln, who in a speech to Congress discussed his own meager military record thus:
If General Cass went in advance of me in picking huckleberries, I guess I surpassed him charges upon the wild onions. If he saw and live fighting Indians, it was more than I did; but I had a good many bloody struggles with mosquitoes, and although I never fainted from the loss of blood, I can truly say I was often very hungry.¶ 9:48 AM
