The December issue of Wired Magazine devoted its cover page to Lonelygirl15 with the article The Secret World of Lonelygirl by Joshua Davis. While this phenomenon is hardly new, I think it provides important cues as to how the well established medium of TV is facing its biggest threat.
In the summer of 2006, as the Lonelygirl15 video series gained popularity on YouTube, a growing collection of fans became obsessed with cracking the mystery of lonelygirl15. The Hunt for Bree became a major internet phenomenon that captured the attention of many YouTubers and was heavily covered in the mainstream media…
It is not just the fact that an alternate channel to TV, such as YouTube, has gained enough attention to be valuated in over $1.65 billion dollars or even that certain enterpreneurs have already exploited the medium. I believe the relevance of this story is that it demonstrates clearly the birth of a new medium.
McLuhan had established decades ago the consequences of TV as a new medium that would return society to its tribal ways, pushing the literate man back to an “acoustic” world where oral tradition is the preferred mechanism for cultural transfer. “Acoustic” was mostly [...]
As of today and until December 15th, the polls are open for the entire blogosphere to cast their vote at The Weblog Awards 2006. If you’re reading this, please support this blog by voting
Since the rules allow for one vote per day per computer, I’ll post a reminder every day, but I promise I’ll make it worth reading.
Besides, it would be a bad omen for our global culture if we were to loose to one of the other sites that only talk about what is on TV or exploit our material obsessions.
This blog was selected finalist in The 2006 Weblog Awards, Best Culture Blog category.
The Weblog Awards are the world’s largest blog competition, with over 1 million votes cast in the last three years for nearly 1,000 blogs. This year’s edition is the biggest ever with 45 categories to choose from. Nominations ended November 24, and voting is scheduled to begin December 7.
I guess sharing the honour with so many first-class bloggers is a great way to celebrate over half a year of passionate pursuit of this abstract notion of a Global Culture, finding along the way hidden gems of knowledge, courageous characters fighting daily battles for a better future and a lot of evidence that we may be on the right track.
Of course none of this would be possible without your interest. Our traffic has grown 50% every month since we started, and we’ve seen visitors from over 130 countries gain interest on the issues we cover. Thank you very much for your support.
If you’re a frequent reader of this blog you’ll notice that I’ve changed the banner at the top of the page. While the image I’m using doesn’t do justice to the original located on the facade of the main building of the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education in the city of Monterrey, Mexico.
This mural (photo taken by Nathaniel C. Sheetz) created in 1954 by Mexican artist Jorge Gonz√°lez Camarena represents the triumph of civilization and culture over the dark forces of stagnation and apathy. It is clearly a carefully thought piece of art well suited for an educational institution, but at the same time provides a great metaphor for the kind of battle that we have ahead in defense of our global culture.
The story narrated by the mural is based on a piece of Mexican mythology which narrates the triumph of the feathered serpent Quetzalcóatl over his nemesis, Tezcatlipoca. The battle between these two deities represents the continuous struggle between light and darkness, civilization and chaos. On the left side one can identify several hands charging against the lord of darkness while carrying with them a man and a woman representing humanity. As [...]
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