Time Man of the Year

I call bullshit, bullshit, bullshit. It's not like all this self-publishing and stuff just happened this year. It's been around a while. All it does is point to the fact that TIME's been behind on that stuff. The editor was on CNN last night, puffing his chest out with how clever they were. Horsehit.

Shoulda been Kim Jong Il. Hmmm. Nukes that could bring us to the brink, or someone's fucking BLOG. Ugh.

 

This is what Time came up with when they couldn't come up with a consensus to give it to someone. And when they've chosen a world leader nutjob before (like Kim Jong II) as "the most influential newsmaker" they've been criticized. This was safe.

But stupid.

 

This makes the Wade pick seem inspired. Was this year so inconsequential? Sure didn't feel that way while I was living it.

 

As Time's Person of the Year, I definitely have plans on how I'm going to parlay this into bigger and better things. First off, I'm heading to the bar to spread the word of my fame and honor, and also to pick up women by letting them know they're also MY person of the year. It should work.

 

Stupidest fucking thing I have ever heard...

The editor who came up with this should be fired... Wait, they should be shot...

I'm suddenly feeling much better about the Dwyane Wade selection by SI...

 

How dare you talk that way about the Time Men of the Year!

 

Is this like the Special Olympics where everybody's a winner?

 

I don't understand why this is so stupid. There is a lot of truth to the Time article. I'm just not sure that everything they mention has taken place within 365 days.

The development of a personal digital life is probably one of the most all-encompassing pieces in the computer puzzle. There is so much that I can do to be a part of the digital world, and people are just now really becoming savvy about that. Youtube is certainly part of that, as ar Myspace, Facebook and a host of others. We should remember that kids who grew up on the Internet are now in the workforce. They're leading a revolution that folks like me know nothing about.

Those who are under 25 might not recall the days before computers, but I do. Though they began pulling a bus filled with Apple's into my grade school when I was about 10, I have witnessed the whole of the emergence of the digital era as an adult. And, frankly, I'm astounded at how far we've come and how fast we've arrived at this point.

Each year, I take stock in what the computer generation has meant, and I'm always perplexed by what more can be done without it reaching points that I considered ridiculous 20 years ago. I mean, will there be flying cars? Not soon, to be sure. But I think it's going to happen far earlier than we'd ever imagine. I was speaking with an acquaintance last night about the likelihood that homes would be built with a hard drive in them in much the same way that they have a water heater. Our computers will just save stuff to that. It won't happen today, but it's likely to happen soon. And the very fact that I'm having such a conversation is absolutely mind-blowingly wild. I mean, that's the precursor to stuff of the robot age, and we're almost there. We're so close, so to award all of us for the great strides we made seems warranted, even if it's been a little off-kilter to focus on a few odd sites.

 

All this is true as far as the eye can see. But here's why it sucks.

1. As you point out, this isn't really a one-year phenomenon. YouTube/MySpace/Wikipedia, the Holy Trinity of Web 2.0, existed this time last year, and people used it. So did DVRs and Xbox 360s and the like.

2. Given the state of the world, with dictators possessing nukes and hundreds of thousands dying in Sudan and Bush drawing the world's wrath, are the end-users of technological marvels really an appropriate choice for "man of the year"?

3. If they're sold on this idea, at least give the award to the people most responsible for Web 2.0, the creators of the Trinity. They're the ones speeding up the revolution, not some jackwad 14-year-old orgasming about his stupid emo girlfriend or posting video of a skateboarder nutdropping himself on a grind.

4. What happens if 2007 or 08 is what we think 2006 is when it comes to this stuff?

 

What happens is that You will become the first three-time winner of Time's Person of the Year Award.

 

Wouldn't YOU like to be a big brother to someone like ME?