I was just forwarded this amazing speech from the Web 2.0 conference last year.
Gin, Television, and Social Surplus
It’s long. But give it a click just to get a taste of what the author is talking about. The main point is that in the first half of the 1900s, massive advancements and efficiencies resulting from the industrial revolution. The result was that people suddenly had a surplus of TIME. Like lots of sudden surpluses, we were not prepared and didn’t know what to do with this suddenly available free time.
So we watched television, and media companies figured out how to extract the value out of our free time.
But like all changes, eventually, the shock thaws out and the surplus becomes a true asset. Now we demand far more in return for our time. Gomper is one of the ways that people will be able to start getting more value of their valuable asset called free time.
