"The media are in the zeitgeist business"

[dsernst]

Just received Seth Godin's daily post, and he mentioned a sentiment I've been thinking about often. Today's post, "Beware the Zeitgeister", calls attention to the folly of only paying attention to what's trending today, and missing the things that were important yesterday and especially tomorrow.

Most issues get treated this way, flaring up and then dying down and being ignored again. And we make so little progress.

Some of his post:

He only cares about what's trending now...

The zeitgeister will interrupt a long-term strategy discussion to talk urgently about today's micro-trend instead. The zeitgeister has little or no knowledge of the foundations of his industry, merely an out-of-context understanding of today's state of the art. He's encouraged by the media, of course, because the media are in the zeitgeist business. It's easier. ---- Seth Godin, Beware the Zeitgeister

I'm bringing this up because it's a message that feels critical, but how we call it out and address it in the context of Letsfix does not yet feel fully developed.

[iangilman]

Amen. In related news, you might appreciate this set of videos from my father on the topic of "what time is it?" – our place in history:

http://www.context.org/foundation-stones/what-time-is-it/wtii-videos/