Now What?

I’ve been a fan of Christopher Baker for some time. Chris completed his MFA while at the U of Minnesota. His work explores the relationship that society has with technology. Now that cheap web tools and nearly free Web access has made everyone a publisher, the caphony of voices now being heard and seen is stunning. Shift Happens is a great video with plenty of stats.

But, a project of Chris’ called Hello World! really captures the reality of technology beyond simply stats. The huge audio and visual installation is mighty impressive. It’s comprised of over 5,000 video diaries found on the Internet. The video wall allows visitors to hear individual diaries or hear all of the diaries at once. Chris’ perspective is striking. He says that while youtube and other SM technologies provide a platform, there is no technology now in place to hear all of these voices.

I think that’s the paradox as marketers look to engaging consumers in social media. While all consumers now have the potential to “talk” to marketers, how many marketers are ready to have the conversation?