Learn how to join the content revolution at GetGrok.com. If you are what you eat then you are what Internet content you consume. If Digg, Twitter, and most blog content can be compared to junk food where is the Whole Foods of Internet content? How did we end up with so much Internet content that has more in common with a tabloid and what we can do to combat it.
12. YouTube = America’s Funniest Home Videos, Podcast = place & time shifted radio Knowledge and Insight Twitter Posterous Tumblr Blogs A “New” New Media Format
13. OR... Education is necessary 4 a capitalist democracy 2 survive in the long run; education is the gr8 equalizer & lk justice must B blind.
16. Digital Economic Civic Digital Lit. for Rupert Murdoch, Economic Lit. for Bank Execs., Civic Lit. for Ted Stevens
17. Don’t join the apathetic & ineffectual ranks of our generation; see ItStartsWith.Us
18. Yes I am serious about this issue, I am putting my money where my mouth is
19. As Smokey the Blogger would say, “Only U can prevent Mind Obesity”
20. I’m a rebel with a cause, please join us in the fight against mind obesity Join the content revolution: www.GetGrok.com or Email Us: [email_address]
Editor's Notes
As Kevin Smith Knows – two thirds of Americans are overweight and half of those people are obese The causes of the current obesity epidemic are Over consumption, High-Fat and Sugary Foods, Reduced Energy Expenditure, and Social Influence
What I want to talk about with you today is the Next American Epidemic: - Mind Obesity The causes of mind obesity parallel those of weight obesity In fact some of you may already be afflicted by this epidemic, if so please use the footer presentation to follow along.
Over consumption – You are following 2000 people on twitter, you have 500 friends on facebook, a 1000 unread posts in your feed reader. The unread messages badge is a permanent feature on your iPhone. Its not information overload its over consumption of information.
Think about it we started with a simple ‘Web log’ Of course now we need – social media icons, a twitter stream, archives, ads, our most popular posts, our most recent posts, categories, comments, and the list keeps going… How much more crap can we stick on one webpage. This noise to signal ratio causes over consumption
The premise is simple if you are what you eat then you are what content you consume. It is in our primitive nature to be drawn to high fat and sugary foods Similarly our mind seeks sugary content high in fat with a side of gossip.
Its like trick-or-treat You post some sugary content on your blog and they keep coming back for more fattening their minds…. Post something they don’t like, they toilet paper your house with nasty comments. Feed you kids candy all day, and they will vomit it up, all over you.
In Fact this is what the blog pundits recommend we do This is the recipe to provide the least amount of knowledge and insight. All you get are empty calories for you mind
Read one blog post on a topic and we assume we are informed. Other bloggers regurgitate the same information, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy of knowledge But in fact, it takes significant time and energy to find all the right information and synthesize it into true knowledge
Even Google realizes this is a problem. Hence the “more options” button that is now available So we can cut down and burn up those excess content calories. We must increase our energy expenditure to wade through the wasteland of junk food content
We do not connect with a diversity of people and viewpoints online, we remain in insular networks. We are reaching a point where there will be more non-English content online , and yet we chose to ignore it
We live in echo chambers of internet content We seek out people we like, information we agree with, and tune out everything else. Just like avoiding the gym, we avoid content that forces us to question or expand our knowledge.
Why is the answer to almost every website idea – oh start a blog If there is an app for that, do doubt there is a blog for that. We talk about “new” media so much, what the hell is so new about what we have created, except for the democratization of publishing
I am not going to stand here and tell you I have all the answers But, here is my cause and my idea We want to create content that holds true to the internet’s utopian vision of information and knowledge sharing. We want to create content that truly helps to ‘Educate the World’.
So, How do we create the Whole Foods, organic farms, and free range chicken of internet content. First and foremost, Form and function should be one Why do we live in a reverse chronological order world, speak only in 140 characters or an average of 250 to 500 words?
We want to create a new form of media for the internet It will be Long format ten thousand or more words Curated for the long term - always current and relevant We will boldly rally against the 140 character and top 10 list nature of online content.
The content for this new media will focus on the most vital subjects for the 21st century Digital, Economic, and Civic literacies The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn
If you think you can write ten thousand or more words for one of the fundamental literacies And want to help educate the world, lets get in touch We want to start the Peace Corp for internet content, after all it’s clear that the internet is still a developing country
We have funding and by that I mean my life savings we also have a great partner to help us develop this new media format and website. And We have room for just 5 more volunteers to help us get started in this cause
In 2020 will the stats read… 2/3 of Americans have been dumbed down by internet content and half of those people suffer from mind obesity. The internet content we leave behind will be the legacy or our generation.
We are the first generation to be given this amazing and powerful medium that is the internet It has democratized publishing So lets fight mind obesity together and help educate the world – Join the content revolution at Get Grok.com or emails us contentcorps@getgrok.com