Joel Stein Likes The One-Way Conversation

January 3rd, 2007

I think this is all for laughs, but here’s a definitely non “Web 2.0″ voice coming from traditional media.

Quote:

Here’s what my Internet-fearing editors have failed to understand: I don’t want to talk to you; I want to talk at you. A column is not my attempt to engage in a conversation with you. I have more than enough people to converse with. And I don’t listen to them either. That sound on the phone, Mom, is me typing.

Not everything should be interactive. A piece of work that stands on its own, without explanation or defense, takes on its own power. If Martin Luther put his 95 Theses on the wall and then all the townsfolk sent him their comments, and he had to write back to all of them and clarify what he meant, some of the theses would have gotten all watered down and there never would have been a Diet of Worms.

He then goes on to rant about how he doesn’t have the time to answer emails, and that most are utterly stupid.

Some comments: Mr. Stein, if you think the medium you’re better suited for is a “one way” conversation like a book or a magazine, then stick to writing in those venues. A column on the web means people are going to want to interact, period. This is like a silent film actor bitching about how they have to learn diction now that films have sound.

Second, you don’t have to rely on email. How about comments? How about trackbacks? There’s no law that says you have to answer all your emails. There are technological solutions for weeding out the spam and stupid comments if you want them.

I can respect someone who doesn’t want to interact with an audience. But not if they put themselves in a situation where it’s expected. Writing a story online in this day and age and not wanting any interaction with the web audience is like a musician who says “I only record in the studio” walking into a bar for open mike night and bitching about how much they hate performing.

Note: In a small nod to the open nature of the web, he does offer a page for readers’ comments to his luddite article. True to form, most are pretty stupid. But taken as a whole, they’re more entertaining and funny than the original article – IMHO of course, which Joel Stein doesn’t want to hear.

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