Me, ‘Person of the Year’? No thanks

Consider this: the flagship
publication of one of the most powerful media conglomerates in the
world declares that flagship publications and powerful media
conglomerates no longer choose where to hoist flags or exercise power.

That’s
exactly what happened last week when Time Magazine declared its Person
of the Year to be you, me, and everyone who contributes content to new
media aggregators like MySpace, Amazon, Facebook, YouTube, Ebay,
Flickr, blogs and Google.

"It’s
about the many wrestling power from the few and helping one another for
nothing and how that will not only change the world, but also change
the ways the world changes," Lev Grossman breathlessly writes in Time.

"And
for seizing the reins of the global media," Grossman says, "for
founding and framing the new digital democracy, for working for nothing
and beating the pros at their own game, Time’s Person of the Year for
2006 is you."

Well, thank
you, Time, for hyping me, overvaluing me, using me to sell my image
back to me, profiling me, flattering me, and failing to pay me. As soon
as I saw myself on my local newsstand, I had to buy a copy of Time.

Notice
that Time framed the Person of the Year as "you." That should sound
familiar. Almost every major marketing campaign these days is about
empowering "you."

"You" have freedom of choice