Home » People & Culture (Page 138)
All about the standing-upright chimps that really love to talk about themselves.
Nearly every heated argument on the internet between Americans eventually gets to one fundamental point. All it takes is a label of some kind – racist, liberal, nazi, socialist – and within a few messages someone is bound to claim that their First Amendment right to Free Speech is somehow being squashed. This whine is both laughably silly and, like any well-cut joke, deeply reflective on our culture’s basic values.
What does it mean to be oppressed and have your right to Free Speech taken away?
Any business use of social media ultimately has to form a Community to be successful. That may seem like an overly strong absolute but it is easily justified.
The main difference between social media and traditional media is the interaction between people who use the service – users writing their own content on their own terms. Without interaction the entire medium is nothing more than a traditional outlet where information is pushed. That’s why it is important to separate the difference between a real social media Community and a “Scene”, or a place where the hip gather to show their fashion power and prowess.
This election year, like any, has a large number of issues that politicians use to distinguish themselves from each other. Budget deficits, immigration, gay marriage, jobs, and corporate misdeeds are all big hits. But what is less obvious is that these issues that appear in the press in long scorecards and lists as if they are important are nothing more than pointless noise. A big bundle of issues, however eagerly they are debated, is no substitute for a genuine strategy – and the real leadership that shapes and executes that strategy. But this point is utterly lost in what pathetically passes for “debate” in our politics.
We’re in the middle of an election season in Minnesota and across the USofA. Everything is certain to become hotter, more partisan, and much louder. I think there’s only one course of action for people who care about our state, our nation, and our planet:
Opt out.
No, I’m not calling for people to boycott elections or debates or politics in general. I want to see something far more active bubbling under the noize. I’d like for everyone who reads Barataria to reach out and spend at least 30 minutes talking to someone they are sure they disagree with politically. Why? Because I’m guessing that you’ll find something you agree with if you let it roll.
Advertising is everywhere, and it keeps our media afloat. Without ads there would be no money to support cultural centers like news organizations and sports teams as we’ve come to know them. But are the ads that fill our lives effective at selling the products – or, indeed, worth anywhere near the money spent on them?
Barataria - The work of Erik Hare 