here ye, here ye

Marc and I were chatting this evening about the lack of substantial discussions on the web over the past few years. The discussion started off by me mentioning the brilliance I see in AirBnB’s community sourced Hollywood & Vines video – yet all you get is haters when there is a thoughtful piece about it posted, people don’t seem to think through the strategy that went into it prior to commenting.

Remember the age ol saying…”Here Ye, Here Ye, Read All About It“?

It’s the phrase from the late 1800’s to the mid 1900’s that immediately brings to mind the teenage paperboy standing on the corner trying to get your attention (& your money) to read the latest breaking headlines in the day’s newspaper — then the only source of news available.

Fast forward to today. It’s not just the paperboy standing on the corner trying to get your attention.

It’s the whole damn crowd.

Every person you walk by on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, or Facebook (or the thousands of other social sites in existence) — is trying to get your attention.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it.

You know what?

No one is fucking listening.

No one is reading.

And, certainly, no one is discussing.

The attention economy (no shortage of writings on the topic). That’s what we’re left with when the whole entire internet is given the opportunity to be a publisher. Sure, society ends up with some great pieces that otherwise wouldn’t have seen the light of day from underground sources that never had a voice before – but we end up with a whole lot of crap to wade through as well. Too many people want to run around firing off 140 character Tweets without giving them a 2nd thought. What people don’t seem to want to do is actually think, and put time into formulating real opinions and solutions.

We’re all busy. I get it. But — are we too busy to think?

What do Marc and I want? I can’t speak directly for Marc of course, but I want real discussion that will move this industry, and world, forward. Real strategic thinking, and potential solutions to the problems we face.

How do we — both as an industry and as a society — make that happen? Ideas, and discussion, are welcome…

[Photo via http://tvtropes.org/]