Twitter, Facebook’s status updates and newsfeeds, Tumblr, and a variety of other sites are creating a soft, ambient haze of social activity akin to leaving the television on in the background.
Though sometimes pithy, pointless or irreverent, these updates and short dispatches fill in the gaps about what you know about your friends, colleagues, and acquaintances. In fact, you get to know them in a different way. This, combined with the voyeuristic effect of it all, has undoubtedly created a new social dynamic. How will people’s “passive activity” be turned into valuable data? Who’s doing it?
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Great post, Colin.
The comparison to “leaving the TV on in the background” is particularly interesting, especially as those of us raised on TV turn to the internet for entertainment more and more (the only reason I have a TV, it seems, is to watch movies, HBO series, and baseball).
My only argument would be that the internet-TV simile doesn’t match up. The internet is an engaging medium whereas the TV is passive — at best you get a mute button. So what they’re really talking about with Twitter is “passive engagement.” The people Twittering are highly active.
November 15th, 2007 at 11:15 pm
Great post, Colin.
The comparison to “leaving the TV on in the background” is particularly interesting, especially as those of us raised on TV turn to the internet for entertainment more and more (the only reason I have a TV, it seems, is to watch movies, HBO series, and baseball).
My only argument would be that the internet-TV simile doesn’t match up. The internet is an engaging medium whereas the TV is passive — at best you get a mute button. So what you’re really talking about with Twitter is “passive engagement.” The people Twittering are highly active.
November 15th, 2007 at 11:18 pm