The decision by Time magazine to name “You” as its Person of the Year is all over the internet.
According to Time, You, the audience, public, whatever we call ourselves now, where the story of 2006:
“It’s a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before. It’s about the cosmic compendium of knowledge Wikipedia and the million-channel people’s network YouTube and the online metropolis MySpace. It’s about the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing and how that will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes.”
So if “You” are so important, click over to the BBC’s Have Your Say section, to read how “You” are reacting to this honour.
It makes for salutory reading and cuts through some of the hype. The most popular comment is from Andrew Taylor in the UK and reads:
“Sounds like they couldn’t be bothered to actually choose someone.
‘Hey, let’s just give it to everyone.’
‘Great idea. Lets go to the pub.’”
Others are taking it a bit more seriously: “This is just a publicity stunt. The growth of internet news makes Time magazine (and its competitors) increasingly irrelevant to modern life,” says David Russell of Newton Mearns.
The final word from Satya Banerji in Mumbai, India, who places the decision in context: “Much of what people, including I, self-publish on the Internet is of uncertain quality, and is actually a form of narcissism. Awards should be given for action and service, rather than for what is often casual expression. Nevertheless, breaking the hegemony of publishers and editors is a worthy development.”
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