Could Time's "Person of the Year" become any more inane and pointless?

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by Jack_www
I cant believe how stupid this is. Where did they come up with this idea?

Time's rationalization is that, via the Internet, average people are choosing the news stories they want to read and also interacting with each other and news reporters. Time's choice is a recognition of this "democratic" trend.

Time's analysis might have some viablity, if the schism between Wall Street and Main Street wasn't constantly increasing. If the "you"s of the world weren't becoming ever more powerless, such as, in American losing their pensions and access to healthcare and worldwide, being herded into working for large employers who exploit their employees with a monofocus on maximizing profits to the exclusion of all else.

Zkribbler's Person of the Year: Mammon.

[Solver]

Heck, if they wanted to show the importance of the Internet and information age, they could have picked a person who has something to do with it. Bill Gates for general computer importance, Tim Berners-Lee for the Internet. Or Sid Meier for addiction...

[Jack_www]

Originally posted by Zkribbler


Time's rationalization is that, via the Internet, average people are choosing the news stories they want to read and also interacting with each other and news reporters. Time's choice is a recognition of this "democratic" trend.

Time's analysis might have some viablity, if the schism between Wall Street and Main Street wasn't constantly increasing. If the "you"s of the world weren't becoming ever more powerless, such as, in American losing their pensions and access to healthcare and worldwide, being herded into working for large employers who exploit their employees with a monofocus on maximizing profits to the exclusion of all else.

Zkribbler's Person of the Year: Mammon.

The internet has been arround for a long time now, so why now do they decide to do it? Still makes no sense to me. I would kind of understand if there was some kind of major thing that happen in 2006 with the internet, but to my knowledge nothing that big has happened.

[Verto]

Check out all the Apple hardware

[Barnabas]

Chavez should have won, he was winning and there was no way to surpass him



I find it irritating that Time Magazine was forced to do something so stupid just to not give Chavez the award

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Jack_www
The internet has been arround for a long time now, so why now do they decide to do it? Still makes no sense to me. I would kind of understand if there was some kind of major thing that happen in 2006 with the internet, but to my knowledge nothing that big has happened.

It's been a gradual thing, but growing every year. Nothing really that groundbreaking this year, so hard to pick someone. Perhaps the "YouTube" guys, or the creator of Wikipedia, could have worked to show the gradual trend of greater individualized choice. But in both of those mediums, the individual is putting things up on those sites and choosing what they want to see. It's actually a pretty intriguing choice to me.

And, it'll sell magazines. I mean look at how many people are talking about this now compared to the regular "Person of the Year" discussions.

Obviously they could have said "The Web Community" or something like that, but "You" is far more attention getting.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Brachy-Pride
Chavez should have won, he was winning and there was no way to surpass him



I find it irritating that Time Magazine was forced to do something so stupid just to not give Chavez the award

Err... what the Hell did Chavez do this year to get a "Person of the Year" honor? He was a nut who was mostly ignored by most people.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
And, it'll sell magazines. I mean look at how many people are talking about this now compared to the regular "Person of the Year" discussions.

This magazine will sell. Future magazines may sell less because they're hurting the value of the brand.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Bull... this hurts nothing. Perhaps you haven't read Time lately, but its not nearly the same news magazine it was even 10 years ago.

[Imran Siddiqui]

These are the type of people they are honoring... kind of hard to pick just one of the many here. Maybe use one as an example and then go on about the democratic approach on the internet?

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1569526,00.html

[Zkribbler]

Err... what the Hell did Chavez do this year to get a "Person of the Year" honor? He was a nut who was mostly ignored by most people.

Agreed.

A better choice would have been al Zarqawi. His attack on the Golden Mosque in Badhdad triggered the current Iraqi civil war, making him the man who drove events in the most critical part of the world. Let's superglue him back together, hand him the trophy and then blow him up again.

[MRT144]

what? tressel wasnt nominated?

[Harry Tuttle]

Time has been a crappy magazine for over a decade. Their pick sucks donkey.

[Zkribbler]

Their pick sucks donkey.

"Ya see that, Shrek? Wat wuz I tellin' you. Everybody love Donkey! Everybody wants to preform sexual acts with Donkey. It's not like I'm some smelly ol' ogre. People looooove Donkey."

[MrFun]

I'm surprised Time honored me with this recognition without even calling me beforehand to interview me.



Time: Congratulations, MrFun, you are awarded Person of the Year due to your involvement with the ongoing Internet revoultion.


MrFun: Uh . . . . thanks, but what did I do to contribute to this Internet revolution thingy?


Time: Well, you . . . . uh . . . . .


MrFun: Well, I had a Myspace homepage at one time.


Time: But you did more than just that, right?


MrFun: hmmm . . . . .


Time: I guess we fluxed up in our choice this year.


MrFun: FLUX you!!