«IN THE FUTURE EVERYONE WILL BE FAMOUS FOR 15 MINUTES»

It’s the internet, of course, that great leveler, where everybody gets to have their singular, often fetishistic, obsession. The common culture is much less compelling than the individual one. This has something to do with the long tail (whatever that exactly is), in which there can no longer be rock stars, for instance, because everybody is listening to some micro-niche music, producing, accordingly, only micro stars. Curiously, the diminishing of star power coincides with a greater urge among the hoi polloi to be recognized. Does this reflect a sense of cultural loss or opportunism? We tend to think that we live in a celebrity-driven culture. But, it’s actually a nobody-driven culture: vaguely familiar faces carrying their coffee. It may even be that what drives us is our lack of celebrities and our yearning for them—which will now be forever unrequited. Or, possibly, what drives us is our jaded attitude: We’re laughing at them, not with them—they’re all so small-time.

Newser
August 17 2009