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November 2009 
So you fancy some cheap entertainment?
Posted on Oct 8th, 2007
by 
White Rose
White Rose
Over five hundred billion dollars go into the movie industry every year, almost twice that goes into the computer gaming industry. The television marketing industry is multi-trillion. So far the returns on these titanic investments has paid off. We keep buying, they keep selling we all profit in some way.
But the entire entertainment business is panicked about one thing- freedom. And the Internet is providing a nice bundle of that.
The World wide web is providing the grounds for one of the biggest social experiments ever to take place. It is evolving so fast that experts can no longer say what or when the next phase will be. Peer to peer software like Kazaa and E-mule threaten to ruin the music business, ICQ and MSN provide instant communication from any point in the world, the blogosphere is home to over ten million amateur righter (I consider myself a pro) and the MySpace revolution is taking place as we speak (you and me are taking part in it here at zaadz.)
I could put in a few words about how words have become very cheap, and almost no one has time to look through all the trillions of printed words, most of which will mean little to most. But my rantings for a different time.
Right no I want to speculate on the phenomenon of viral videos. No doubt most of you have watched videos on YouTube, and you should know that most of these videos are amateur done. In the last few years videos have been circulating faster and faster and in bigger circles. As more people gain access to the Internet and connection speeds are improved more people watch and speculate on the videos made by fellow surfers.
The interesting phenomenon I'd like to point out is that the successful videos on the Internet can be classified as "cheep entertainment". Anyone in the world can post videos online thanks to so much new technology, and many people have gained celebrity status in return. Such famous videos include the "numa numa kid" the"starwars kid" scandal that ended in a settlement of half a million dollars and hundreds of others.
My question is this- why is it that we, the members of the Internet community, take so much pleasure in watching the mistakes, talents and gags done by amateurs? With modern computer graphics and animation the big screen is showing us action and talent far beyond anything we can find online. What's the big attraction of watching a guy kick a baby (by accident) if Hollywood can make a fight scene like this?
The answer is pure and simple- reality.
Forget what I say about people wanting wanting to escape reality. People might not always want to face reality, but when reality has something incredible to offer people want it more than anything virtual. Forget the Matrix, humanity does want the real world, they just want the real world to be amazing. And it is.
The Internet is providing us with tools to define our own existence. We can put on any mask we want, we can take off any mask we have. We can be who we want, see what we want and talk to whoever else is online. We are only beginning the exploration of the Internet, and it's going to have to be an exploration of ourselves as well.
What will be the next step in Internet evolution? I do not know. But while Hollywood can manufacture amazing things like Heroes, the Matrix and the Apollo moon landing reality can provide things far more incredible than any directer or screen righter can imagine. Pure and simple, we are sitting at the edge of a major evolutionary step into the unknown, and I only home we can survive it.
You see, with technology becoming more and more mobile people are going to be putting more of themselves online. People are already putting they're lives, friends and memories in a place where everyone can share. My own thoughts are being viewed by thousands of people in this article.
What will happen when we don't only share, but also experience? What will the world be like when you can have a vacation at your desk by simply sharing the experience of someone else? Take a trip to Hawaii by logging on! Check out the Niagara falls before stopping for lunch in France? That is only one possibility I know will be possible soon. Just think of all the more impressive things you'll be able to do that we aren't expecting yet.
We are about to make a big decision, one of the biggest decisions we will have to make for the 21st century and the new millennium- are we going to live in reality or trap ourselves in a virtual world?
Red pill or Blue pill?
But the entire entertainment business is panicked about one thing- freedom. And the Internet is providing a nice bundle of that.
The World wide web is providing the grounds for one of the biggest social experiments ever to take place. It is evolving so fast that experts can no longer say what or when the next phase will be. Peer to peer software like Kazaa and E-mule threaten to ruin the music business, ICQ and MSN provide instant communication from any point in the world, the blogosphere is home to over ten million amateur righter (I consider myself a pro) and the MySpace revolution is taking place as we speak (you and me are taking part in it here at zaadz.)
I could put in a few words about how words have become very cheap, and almost no one has time to look through all the trillions of printed words, most of which will mean little to most. But my rantings for a different time.
Right no I want to speculate on the phenomenon of viral videos. No doubt most of you have watched videos on YouTube, and you should know that most of these videos are amateur done. In the last few years videos have been circulating faster and faster and in bigger circles. As more people gain access to the Internet and connection speeds are improved more people watch and speculate on the videos made by fellow surfers.
The interesting phenomenon I'd like to point out is that the successful videos on the Internet can be classified as "cheep entertainment". Anyone in the world can post videos online thanks to so much new technology, and many people have gained celebrity status in return. Such famous videos include the "numa numa kid" the"starwars kid" scandal that ended in a settlement of half a million dollars and hundreds of others.
My question is this- why is it that we, the members of the Internet community, take so much pleasure in watching the mistakes, talents and gags done by amateurs? With modern computer graphics and animation the big screen is showing us action and talent far beyond anything we can find online. What's the big attraction of watching a guy kick a baby (by accident) if Hollywood can make a fight scene like this?
The answer is pure and simple- reality.
Forget what I say about people wanting wanting to escape reality. People might not always want to face reality, but when reality has something incredible to offer people want it more than anything virtual. Forget the Matrix, humanity does want the real world, they just want the real world to be amazing. And it is.
The Internet is providing us with tools to define our own existence. We can put on any mask we want, we can take off any mask we have. We can be who we want, see what we want and talk to whoever else is online. We are only beginning the exploration of the Internet, and it's going to have to be an exploration of ourselves as well.
What will be the next step in Internet evolution? I do not know. But while Hollywood can manufacture amazing things like Heroes, the Matrix and the Apollo moon landing reality can provide things far more incredible than any directer or screen righter can imagine. Pure and simple, we are sitting at the edge of a major evolutionary step into the unknown, and I only home we can survive it.
You see, with technology becoming more and more mobile people are going to be putting more of themselves online. People are already putting they're lives, friends and memories in a place where everyone can share. My own thoughts are being viewed by thousands of people in this article.
What will happen when we don't only share, but also experience? What will the world be like when you can have a vacation at your desk by simply sharing the experience of someone else? Take a trip to Hawaii by logging on! Check out the Niagara falls before stopping for lunch in France? That is only one possibility I know will be possible soon. Just think of all the more impressive things you'll be able to do that we aren't expecting yet.
We are about to make a big decision, one of the biggest decisions we will have to make for the 21st century and the new millennium- are we going to live in reality or trap ourselves in a virtual world?
Red pill or Blue pill?
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