“Lives Of Noisy And Ostentatious Desperation”

Robert Samuelson on the explosion of what he terms the ExhibitioNet. The internet as exhibitionist heaven. Blogs, Myspace, Facebook and YouTube. All ways for people to flaunt themselves and whatever they want to reveal about themselves (and more) to the world.

Call it the ExhibitioNet. It turns out that the Internet has unleashed the greatest outburst of mass exhibitionism in human history. Everyone may not be entitled, as Andy Warhol once suggested, to 15 minutes of fame. But everyone is entitled to strive for 15 minutes — or 30, 90 or much more. We have blogs, "social networking" sites (MySpace.com, Facebook), YouTube and all their rivals. Everything about these sites is a scream for attention. Look at me. Listen to me. Laugh with me — or at me.

This is no longer fringe behavior. MySpace has 56 million American "members." Facebook — which started as a site for college students and has expanded to high school students and others — has 9 million members. (For the unsavvy: MySpace and Facebook allow members to post personal pages with pictures and text.) About 12 million American adults (8 percent of Internet users) blog, estimates the Pew Internet & American Life Project. YouTube — a site where anyone can post home videos — says 100 million videos are watched daily.

Exhibitionism is now a big business. In 2005 Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. bought MySpace for a reported $580 million. All these sites aim to make money, mainly through ads and fees. What's interesting culturally and politically is that their popularity contradicts the belief that people fear the Internet will violate their right to privacy. In reality, millions of Americans are gleefully discarding — or at least cheerfully compromising — their right to privacy. They're posting personal and intimate stuff in places where thousands or millions can see it.

The entire world as "content" for advertising. I guess I came late to the blogosphere. I missed the boat. Dang. Read the whole thing, it is actually a very interesting article. Exhibitionistly speaking.

Does this blog make me look fat?