Déclinologie  |
IS NEAR THE END IS NEAR THE END HERE, the work of Jason de Haan and Scott Rogers
exhibited during the Nuit Blanche 2009. Photograph by HermiC (via Flickr) |
There is a real fascination for the decline, decadence, decay, and not just in France. Journalists, researchers, bloggers (I'm sure I made myself), etc.. like to announce the death of institutions that we previously thought unsinkable. The announcement effect is always small effect. True, it is easier to write
THE WEB IS DEAD rather than "the Web as a mode of navigation and use of Internet services is challenged by applications or the Internet objects " ... If you want to do a test, type
"death of / + of great value or institution"
Google, it's pretty funny.
This post is not meant to vilify
declinists (which we do, somewhere, every part), but to look across
decline. Is that after spending seven or eight years to learn and
dutifully repeating the arguments of Joseph "Schumpy" Schumpeter, I tend not to dwell on simple observation. And with the explosion of digital (Internet), the findings are not missing! A short overview and attempt decryption.
early February, the institute ComScore figures revealed
for less spectacular on the use of e-mail in the United States. Electronic mail is generally declining, especially among adolescents (displays, among 12-17 year olds, an incredible drop of 59% in one year). "Fault" a new generation unencumbered addition to writing and format of long texts, but prefers texting, instant messaging or social networks, more instantaneous and informal. A trend which fits well (and as always I want to tell) Facebook, which is establishing its new messaging system, uniting under a single interface these new ways simpler, more
"digital naive " , communicate.
Beyond teenagers, companies such as Atos Origin is already beginning to abandon the format
mail, arguing-rightly-that it is spend time with their employees.
Email is he in agony? The etymological sense of the term (which refers to the idea of "fighting"), yes! The e-mail fights and reinvents itself, sometimes borrowing from competing modes of communication. The example of Gmail, which is constantly trying to implement new features (with
more or less
happiness) is significant. In addition, the role of the mail, became de facto
a means to communicate "solemn", might have to evolve into an equivalent of paper mail today, namely a less practical but which consequently gives a symbolic message to which it is the media. Sign of the Times, the Post Office again to promote her very serious service e-mail recommended that no date yet
yesterday ...
Forfeiture blogs Some time ago, the Pew Research Center
published a report on best practices online, which indicates a fall in popularity of blogs among young U.S. Internet users. It did not take less commentators to declare dead the blogosphere.
Good.
I even know why I spend more time on this ultra-overused. For years we discussion of the death of blogs (see here
or
here), and from all angles!
Far from being endangered, the format "blog" is changing. The split between the ego-centric blogs (ie
Kikoolol ), which were the preserve of younger and are logically replaced by social networks with high narcissistic value added, and blogs devoted to subjects other than exploration of the self, is consumed. In addition, the New York Times
rightly points out that this decline comes as some blogs have become veritable historical empires (cf. Mashable
or
Huffington Post, recently acquired by AOL) on a par with traditional media. Similarly, new types of blogs like Tumblr always more intuitive and Pinterest grow and contribute to erasing the line between blogging
and curating
.
Finally, and perhaps most interestingly, the decline of blogs is to be interpreted as a sign of a qualitative transformation. As bloggers Kikoolol or less passionate disengage and migrate to Twitter / Facebook (where they can tell it without too much effort), the blogosphere becomes a shared space discoveries and ideas
. In parallel to this phenomenon of skimming, which benefits most blogging platforms "pros" like Wordpress, there is another sign of a rise in quality of blogs: the length of the notes and depth of analysis. As pointed
journalist Clive Thompson in Wired a few weeks ago, the rise of social networking has changed the role of blogs. If before, the notes were short and very frequent, they are now, by playing a sort of "division of labor" with Twitter, less frequent but more documented, more constructive ... In a word: more qualitative!
The end of the album Monday 21, I was fortunate to attend the first conference
Music Net.Works , organized by among others Owni Music and Silicon Sentier. I learned quite a bit but I stayed on my hunger on one point: the new uses of music, both in terms of creation and consumption. Because beyond a business model that is still searching, I was interested in the effects of new digital formats (MP3, video streaming) on the way we produce music. Been observed for some time
a great disparity between digital sales of albums and pieces, would it be, as stated Ars Technica
death of the album? Without going into the most simplistic technological determinism, it is clear that the "song" is about to become, in the era iTunes / YouTube / Spotify / Soundcloud / Hype Machine / etc., The base unit of musical creation. Or rather to become, as it must be remembered that before itself as an object of art in itself in the years 60-70, the album was often a collection of singles released in advance (I think especially Phil Spector productions like the Crystals or the Ronettes). The "track" or "single" format seems to be best suited to the digital age, it's quickly consumed, sharing and remix. And the format most monetizable, too (download, streaming video, Licencing) ...
However, as with e-mail, the album is not about to disappear. Instead, the artists who feel the long format (LP) as the only able to translate their artistic vision will strengthen its status of "art object". Already reflected in the work of Radiohead, whose
King of Limbs is sold as a complete work that goes far beyond a mere compilation of songs.
Bonus: the disappearance of marginalia marginalia The
, these are the notes scribbled in the pages of books. The New York Times
(decidedly déclinolophile)
concerned about their disappearance earlier digital books. I put this article only for his poetic side ... I think this is a false issues because 1) the
marginalia are a phenomenon ... marginal (lol) 2) the digital book has some way to go.
And you, what your "favorite decline?
