Gregory and I were discussing propaganda. At the end of it all, his notion was "anything said by anybody is propaganda, because everyone has an agenda." He also cited the literal definiton of the word (from over 3 sources...he IS thorough.) My suggestion was this; the literal definition of the word doesn't always, and often never, provides the connotation of the word and its understanding throughout history. Propaganda, to me, suggests steering the masses away from real events to convey the … [Read more...]

I am not a blogger. All of a sudden, though, I read an article in Wired on Nick Denton. (And here I am, blogging.) Denton has these gossip infused, "let's be sassy chicks" inspired websites, all born with this idea of creating a business model within a new medium and not really thinking for a fleeting moment about authenticity and/or positive output. Which is fine. There is obviously a market for that, as the popularity of his websites and his list of paid bloggers increases. But then, … [Read more...]