Time Magazine 2006 Person of the Year

2006: Time's Person of the Year - You

by Lev Grossman - December 13th, 2006

...Look at 2006 through a different lens and you'll see another story, one that isn't about conflict or great men. It's a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before. It's about the cosmic compendium of knowledge Wikipedia and the million-channel people's network YouTube and the online metropolis MySpace. It's about the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing and how that will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes.

As Grossman writes, Web 2.0 is a gigantic social experiment - in participation, collaboration and the exchange of information and ideas. As he points out, not all of it is good - the crowd is not always wise, and accepting the democracy of the Internet involves the inclusion of many opinions, some of which are bigoted, sexist, and just plain factually wrong.

But obviously we wanted it and were ready! We have things to say and creativity to express. We want to add a comment on Amazon.com when we buy a DVD that arrives scratched. We want to make videos combining our cats playing with laser lights with the title track from Star Wars. Do all of us contribute? No, but that's OK because we're also watching. Where is the line between consumer and producer? Who knows now!

Visit the Time article here.