tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7833882.post1825877758679319560..comments2024-01-29T05:11:29.607-05:00Comments on Helene Blowers |: Mega FFT on cognitive surplus, gin & Gillian's islandUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7833882.post-48152890507143323502008-05-01T10:47:00.000-04:002008-05-01T10:47:00.000-04:00It seems to me that Shirky is making the age old a...It seems to me that Shirky is making the age old argument that "TV rots your brain," and dressing up his value judgment with the pseudoscientific term "cognitive surplus." Would it still be called a "surplus" if the time needed for online content creation was taken from reading, going out with friends, or exercise etc? I doubt it. Since per capita hours of TV viewing has slowly, but steadily, increased over the last ten years, it seems much more likely that the time used for content creation is taken from a variety of other activities. When you strip away the rhetoric all you're left with is "TV is Bad, content generation is Good." Now, in a lot of cases I would agree with this. Lolcats beats Gilligan's Island any day of the week. <I>The Office</I>? Not so much. It all boils down to value judgments. <BR/><BR/>I feel bad for the TV Producer on the receiving end of Shirky's outburst. He makes it sound as if television is something that corporations have inflicted upon an unwilling populace. How dare media companies create content that people want to consume?!! It's an outrage! He states that he “was forced into the channel of media the way it was because it was the only option.” This is a false dilemma—TV or nothing. Was he shackled to his armchair, and unable to avoid the umpteenth re-run of Gilligan's Island? Or could he have chosen to simply turn it off, and reclaim his “cognitive surplus” by engaging in some other activity?<BR/><BR/>I’m sure we’ve all seen the occasional newspaper editorial bemoaning the shelf space given to popular bestsellers at the (alleged) expense of classics. The bestsellers are destroying our minds and culture, while the classics enrich our lives etc, etc. As librarians we point out, and rightly so, that this argument is elitist. Who are we to judge a person’s reading habits? Shirky is essentially making the same elitist argument.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7833882.post-90850157616823303872008-04-30T22:46:00.000-04:002008-04-30T22:46:00.000-04:00It's the ultimate in pro-active customer service -...It's the ultimate in pro-active customer service - it's all about really allowing the customer to control his/her experience as well as influencing that of others, and serving them all in a way that facilitates success.<BR/><BR/>Rock on, Helene!Cat Herselfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08661146086943795408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7833882.post-22739245478274419382008-04-30T18:15:00.000-04:002008-04-30T18:15:00.000-04:00Helene:Thanks for posting the Shirky article. I hi...Helene:<BR/><BR/>Thanks for posting the Shirky article. I highly recommend his "Here Comes Everybody" It's a brilliant read.<BR/><BR/>Jason LeDuc<BR/>Urban Libraries CouncilJasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14555406642783125650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7833882.post-5471781789251407352008-04-30T13:45:00.000-04:002008-04-30T13:45:00.000-04:00Watch it here!<A HREF="http://blip.tv/file/855937" REL="nofollow">Watch it here!</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com