Sunday, February 27, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Malcolm Gladwell, still down on social media, and still wrong.
Despite the embarrassing article Malcolm Gladwell wrote last fall, he remains adamantly opposed to the idea that there is much of interest in new social media platforms. The title of his piece: “Small Change: Why the revolution will not be tweeted,” was off in every respect.
The changes in how we communicate, because of social media are not small. And the revolution in Egypt was not only tweeted–Twitter and Facebook were important communications tools during the protests that brought down Hosni Mubarek.
Last month as Mubarek’s rule was teetering on the precipice, Gladwell wrote that “people with a grievance will always find ways to communicate with each other. How they choose to do it is less interesting, in the end, than why they were driven to do it in the first place.”
As an agency devoted to finding better ways to communicate, this statement is of course objectionable. But on a broader scale, it’s simply a stubborn refusal to face reality.
Radio and television were hardly uninteresting innovations in communications–they changed the world. How much social media changes the world remains to be seen, but it is changing it. Egypt is one example, an important one, but one of many.
I have high regard for Malcolm Gladwell. He has written outstanding books including The Tipping Point, Blink and Outliers. His usually excellent articles in The New Yorker are additional examples of his proud body of work.
It’s precisely because he is such an innovative thinker and writer that his queasiness with social media is especially notable, and odd.
It’s time for a new article from Gladwell: “Big Change: Why more revolutions will be tweeted.”
Jim Breitinger, writing for RIESTER
This post originally appeared at RIESTER.com.
The changes in how we communicate, because of social media are not small. And the revolution in Egypt was not only tweeted–Twitter and Facebook were important communications tools during the protests that brought down Hosni Mubarek.
Last month as Mubarek’s rule was teetering on the precipice, Gladwell wrote that “people with a grievance will always find ways to communicate with each other. How they choose to do it is less interesting, in the end, than why they were driven to do it in the first place.”
As an agency devoted to finding better ways to communicate, this statement is of course objectionable. But on a broader scale, it’s simply a stubborn refusal to face reality.
Radio and television were hardly uninteresting innovations in communications–they changed the world. How much social media changes the world remains to be seen, but it is changing it. Egypt is one example, an important one, but one of many.
I have high regard for Malcolm Gladwell. He has written outstanding books including The Tipping Point, Blink and Outliers. His usually excellent articles in The New Yorker are additional examples of his proud body of work.
It’s precisely because he is such an innovative thinker and writer that his queasiness with social media is especially notable, and odd.
It’s time for a new article from Gladwell: “Big Change: Why more revolutions will be tweeted.”
Jim Breitinger, writing for RIESTER
This post originally appeared at RIESTER.com.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Return to the mountain
From 1991 through 2002 I skied at Park City every season. Yesterday was my first time back in nine years! It didn't seem like I'd been gone that long. We spent most of the day skiing Jupiter Bowl on a day when Utah lived up to its reputation for having the greatest snow on Earth.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Egypt, Let Freedom Ring!
Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!
But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!
And let freedom ring from the streets of Cairo!
-MLK v.2011
Today's news from Egypt is exhilarating, demonstrating once again that freedom is a universal value.
Going forward, will it impact the flow of oil out of the Middle East as some fear? Oil that we are still sadly addicted to? That remains to be seen. Will we learn before it's too late and create an energy plan beyond Keep Oil Cheap?
These are important issues, but today is a day to celebrate and honor the people of Egypt who made this happen.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." -Declaration of Independence
Read more about oil at a post I wrote for STAND FOR LESS: "Improve your oil IQ."
Photo: Man in Cairo reacting to the news of Mubarek's fall.
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