In asking Are Journalism Conferences Worth It? Lisa Williams offers Bloggercon, Gnomedex and Blogher as examples of success. (I agree.) Of course she could have said “Are _________ Conferences Worth It?” without singling out journalism.
But since we’re there, lets.
I start, as is my occasional custom, with Tony Pierce, whose blog bears the legend nothing in here is true, and who is now in the employ of the Los Angeles Times. Tony’s latest investigates the vast cloud of growing nonsense and fun jive surrounding a video of the Rev. Thomas Cruise enthusing about his church. The first source in Tony’s post is I can has research papar?, which uses the adjective “epic” to describe its own mission. A sample paragraph:
| In a more semantic sense, the lulz found on 4chan and YTMND is a perfect example of pure simulacrum. There is nothing real about the lulz: it is entirely fake, yet original. It uses representations of things like pop culture icons in a totally virtual space. The map of 4chan precedes the territory it covers. The proponents of the lulz – specifically Anonymous – also embody the collective hive mind that the internet presents. One image macro may technically be the product of one person, but the idea of image macros and the contributions to internet culture are dictated by a hive collection of users. Encyclopedia Dramatica exemplifies this. |
Yes. So. Tony explains,
| The well-designed online essay perfectly explained, among other things “lulz”, several Internet memes, and the roots behind the group Anonymous whose moto is “We do not forgive. We do not forget. We are legion. Because none of us are as cruel as all of us.” |
| A few days after I Can Has Rezearch Papar came out Gawker found itself in possession of the now famous Tom Cruise video… |
Below which Tony shares Tom’s and seven other videos, all of which together obsolete television as well as Tony obsoletes Journalism As We Knew It.
Bottom line: I want to go to a conference with Tony there. That would be good.
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