RSSTime's Person of the Year: You
By Ed Oswald | Published December 18, 2006, 12:54 PM
The explosive growth of Web 2.0 and user-generated content is changing the way we use the Internet and interact with one another. So congratulations, Time Magazine's Person of the Year 2006 is you.
This year's pick marks the 79th time the magazine has picked a "Person of the Year" since it started in 1927. Past winners include Charles Lindbergh, FDR, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Bill Clinton.
In picking a winner, editors attempt to choose the person who most influenced the news and current events during that year.
In its Monday edition, the news magazine has put a mirror on the front cover, meant to symbolize how all of us are transforming the Information Age. We beat out candidates including Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, among others.
The idea came to Time Managing Editor Richard Stengel after posting his own video to YouTube asking for submissions for Person of the Year. Within a few days, it had thousands of pageviews and dozens of comments and submissions.
"This response was the living example of the idea of our 2006 Person of the Year: that individuals are changing the nature of the information age, that the creators and consumers of user-generated content are transforming art and politics and commerce, that they are the engaged citizens of a new digital democracy," Stengel wrote.
Leading this revolution are social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook, whose popularity skyrocketed during the year, and user-generated content destinations like YouTube.
Instead of big media controlling what we see and how we interact, these sites are increasingly giving that power back to the individual, the magazine conceded.
By far the most ridiculous choice they've ever had. There were so many more important people/groups that Time could have chosen. The Person of the Year is supposed to be about who made the biggest contribution to the events of the year, good or bad.
Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Ahmadinejad, al-Maliki, Iraqi insurgents, the Democratic Party, Pelosi, Pope Benedict, illegal immigrants, Hezbollah... Like them or hate them, they all had a big global or national impact on current events in 2006, and would have been a far better choice than "You".
Is it really big news that we use the Internet more and more every day? Is it really all that important that everyone can upload videos for all to see?
This whole thing sounds to me like a new editor came in and wanted to put his stamp on the place, just like any new manager coming into any company.
Time, how about sticking to significant people and events from now on?
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|This award to "You" makes just about as much sense as O.J.'s stupid "How I Would Have Done It" book.
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|Thanks Time.
I graciously accept your award.
You know, I used to be a silly PS3 and Sony fanboy but I have changed my ways.
My hobbies are jazz ballet, squash and playing "Gears of War" on my beautiful if not a little noisy XBOX 360.
Oh and I'd also like to thank God for this award.
oh and the War in Iraq should stop.Peace.
Thank you. Thank you.
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|I thought it should have been the Chinese, who seem to be manufacturing just about everything that "WE" used to be able to.
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|We still could. We just won't do it for 25 cents an hour so some CEO can make $200 mill a year while workers get shafted for a greater percentage of their health insurance.
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|OFMG!!!!!111oneoneone
I actually agree with you.
*gasp*
*looks up at the sky*
Nope, moons still white. Half expected it to be blood-red.
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|Speaking of that, when will corporate boards get smart and realize that if they hired a Chinese or Indian CEO for a mere $200k, they could pocket that guy's $500 million bonus and $200 million salary every year?
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Obvious answer: they're all wingnut golfing buddies, that's why.
My vote for POTY was Jack Murtha: he was right before right was cool.
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|"My vote for POTY was Jack Murtha: he was right before right was cool."
Agreed!
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|"..the creators and consumers of user-generated content are transforming art and politics and commerce, that they are the engaged citizens of a new digital democracy.."
Unless you're one of the 25% of Americans without affordable broadband. But hey, money has always ruled this country.
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|But hey, money has always ruled this country.
Wealth has always ruled the world, it is not anything new or unique to the US.
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|Medium of the last decade: bits, not paper.
Who cares what Time thinks?
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|The ultimate act of the truly shallow people in the world and their media-driven narcissism.
Having achieved this nadir of self-congratulation, TIME has finally rendered itself completely irrelevant as a serious source of news gathering and reporting.
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|*clap, clap, clap*
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|Yes, those who post pointless vlogs, write about their pointless lives on LiveJournal and who post their attention-whoring photos on Flickr surely deserve such a grand title.
Give me a break.
(Yeah I know they mean more than that but you get my point.)
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|I think I'll add this to my resume....
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|Is there a monetary award attached to this honor? If not, thanks, but no thanks.
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|Me?
Well, I was sure it would happen someday...
I'd like to thank my family, and all who have supported...
Wait...
Everybody?
That can't be right. *looks at the article*
*sigh*
Oh well, one more year won't kill me. :p
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|What a cop-out.
Next time...not just YOU, but EVERYONE!
Heh, wonder how many of US will buy this?
Latz, SB
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|Does anyone read Time anymore?? or news papers?? They have all are propaganda. Might have always been....
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