Showing posts with label EPIC 2014. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EPIC 2014. Show all posts

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Niche Nation


"Niche Nation" refers to what Chris Anderson, the author of "The Long Tail" believes is happening to our country as a result of a focus on consumer choice and consumer choice. It is happening in the business world, the political world, and has also infiltrated the media.

The EPIC 2014 documentary predicts that the news will be tailored to the individual reader through algorithms that combine through Google Grid, everything about the consumer. As a result, news will become a collection of trivia, much of it untrue.

Even though I disagree with the conclusion that much of the news will be untrue and trivial, I do believe that large media organizations like the New York Times will go under because they will be unable to compete with Google. Through RSS feeds, readers already are beginning to choose what they read and where they get their information. It becomes very easy for any individual to find their new niche and limit the type of news they read about. However, the idea that everyone is so shallow that all news will become trivia in the future seems absurd. But I do believe that individuals will not be as well rounded in the news they read in the future. Most people read only the stories that they care about the most and thus are never exposed to the full array of issues that affect the world today. But I guess, having individuals rather than Big Media decide whats the most important issues affecting the world is definitely better.