The prestige recession
We are reaching the point where we have to ask not only whether works of larger significance and reach can still be created, but also whether audiences—readers, viewers, listeners—would still know how to take them in if they were.
Sven Birkerts • The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age
the internet’s sprawling databases, real-time social-media networks, and globe-spanning e-commerce platforms have made almost everything immediately searchable, knowable, or purchasable—curbing the social value of sharing new things. Cultural arbitrage now happens so frequently and rapidly as to be nearly undetectable, usually with no extraordinary... See more
W. David Marx • The Diminishing Returns of Having Good Taste
Meaning and point of view are essential for anything worthy of our attention. It’s about a sense of purpose and personality that goes beyond mere information transmission. It’s about paying attention, and not outsourcing observation. In a world increasingly populated by auto-generated content, the combination of substance and style will rise above
Carly Ayres • On substance with style
A 2023 Look-back: the internet dies, etc.
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