The Death of the Remote Control

(image by sanofi2498)

The ever-entertaining Jay Cross threw up an amusing blog the other day, riffing on some observations by David Brooks in the NYT that reciting obscure factoids from our cultural past no longer gives you any street-cred. The new 'cool' [*makes embarrasing white-boy pseudo-gang gesture*] is to be connected to 'the now', via your iPhone or other mobile web device.

Jay sez:

'Last night at a party, instead of one-upping each other with modernist cultural artifacts, people talked of Tweets and Twirl and other blips on the radar of the greater social network. Esoterica still rules, but the successful social climber has to stay ahead of the curve: very early to the game but also among the first to announce that the new stuff has become old hat.'

And too right he is - I've noticed lately that when friends come around to my place we no longer argue over obscure facts and arcane movie trivia. Because there's no point - any of us can just search for the relevant piece of data online in seconds, leaving a previously insufferable smug git (usually me) with a sheepish expression on his face as he's proven wrong.

Another shift has been the death of the remote control - as we now no longer argue over the TV or even the iPod, but instead fight over Youtube with ever more hysterical cries of 'No, I'm just playing one more and then you can have it' as we body-block our mates from getting at the keyboard.

Brave new world etc.

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