As a person interested in the media ...

... this is right up my alley ... and brilliant.

THE AGE OF EGOCASTING.

It's a little long, but well worth reading and very interesting.

University of Chicago law professor Cass Sunstein engaged this dilemma in his book, Republic.com. Sunstein argues that our technologies especially the Internet are encouraging group polarization: "As the customization of our communications universe increases, society is in danger of fragmenting, shared communities in danger of dissolving." Borrowing the idea of "the daily me" from M.I.T. technologist Nicholas Negroponte, Sunstein describes a world where "you need not come across topics and views that you have not sought out. Without any difficulty, you are able to see exactly what you want to see, no more and no less." Sunstein is concerned about the possible negative effects this will have on deliberative democratic discourse, and he urges websites to include links to sites that carry alternative views. Although his solutions bear a trace of impractical ivory tower earnestness you can lead a rabid partisan to water, after all, but you can't make him drink his diagnosis of the problem is compelling. "People should be exposed to materials that they would not have chosen in advance," he notes. "Unplanned, unanticipated encounters are central to democracy itself."

That is why I don't really like talk radio, TV news commentary or political parties. It ends up being a bunch of extremists agreeing with each other. I don't know if there's a real solution to that, but not watching TV works for me.

On the topic of the article in general, I have an mp3 player ... and before that I had a discman. Whenever I went on a trip I found myself wanting to just listen to music all the time. While that is a good time, many of the most memorable times I've ever had have been on car rides. Especially when we're all listening to the same music (and can sing along). While I enjoy my Rio Carbon, there are times to use it and times to leave it at home. It was great for working in the library over the summer when there was no one to talk to and I had lots of books to move. It is also good when I want to study in a public place, like our porch or lounge; that way no one will interrupt and I won't have to try to ignore them. However, it is easy to put yourself inside your own head when you could be having entertaining and memorable interactions with your friends.

Music is cool, but if I had it playing everywhere I went, it would lose some of its power.