Megan West(erby)

"

But, then, the single greatest export on the internet—greater, even, than information—is hyperbole.

Hyperbole is human nature and even the internet, happily, can’t outrun human nature. Read any blog comments and you’ll see that that’s true.

Like most hyperbole, the truth is somewhere in the middle—between “the future of journalism” and “silly and dumb.” But where?

The most common defensive posture adopted by people exposed to new ideas is to find someone even newer and feign comprehensive knowledge.

A great deal of time on the internet is spent finding different ways to say, “Oh, you didn’t know that already? Huh. I’ve known for ages.”

So I’m going to say something that might strike you as weird and naive, but it’s true. Listen: The internet is still very, very new.

…

The thing they don’t get is that the next thing, whatever that may be, will build on Twitter. It has changed the way the internet works.

And scoffing at it isn’t going to make it go away. The way we talk to each other and tell each other stories is always changing.

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~ Paul Constant Reviews Twitter - Features - The Stranger, Seattle’s Only Newspaper

8 July 2009 ·