Wealth of banality at your fingertips

For those of you able to accessthis article on FT.com, go check it out. If you're not able to get it, I hope my little mention of it here does justice to it. This is especially relevant to anyone working on or interested in the potential of the internet, because as the author and FT technology correspondent, Kevin Allison, put it: "2005 may be remembered as the year that the internet’s potential for distraction and diversion soared to unheard-of heights."

The article's opening sentence starts off full of promise: "Somewhere between the online tutorial about rock star poses and a study on the mind-ray- blocking properties of tin foil hats, the computer alerted me to the message in my inbox." That message was from his boss, shaking him out of his procrastination fueled by the fact that "[n]ever before has so much infomation, of such little importance, been so easily accessible."

Basically, Kevin is raging on the internet's democratization of publishing. And he does a pretty good job of it at that. In the 6th, 9th and 10th paragraphs, Kevin presents the evidence, brings up the history, and then points out the absurdity that the democratization of the internet has unleashed. Read them for yourself:

"Over at Boingboing, readers are treated to links to video footage of alleged sasquatch sightings, scans of old Soviet New Year’s greeting cards and other moments of internet Zen. And, if they so choose, readers at Memepool can immerse themselves in a concise online history of the codpiece – no doubt the first of its kind."

[...]

"Centuries ago, the advent of the printing press broke the clergy’s monopoly on knowledge and ushered in a profound upheaval that culminated in the Enlightenment. But now, at my desk, with five browser windows open, I can’t help wondering whether, in this new publishing era, society is faced with diminishing returns."

"It is not hard to imagine a world in the near future where those who sit in the lap of luxury pay to have people scour the earth, picking out only the most important bits of information to deliver to them each day, free of distractions and diversions. Something like a newspaper springs to mind."

I am not entirely sure what to make of this article. Is Kevin lashing out at those who would have their voices heard, no matter how screeching or inane they may be to his ears, or is he simply relating his inability to use Google in a way that is meaningful to him and his craft? I cannot say, but I did like the way he put the words together.