Neighbour, it's time we sat down and discussed a few things. First, let me make an unconditional apology for the past, present and future actions of my countrymen. For too long we've seen ourselves as the broadcasters, and the rest of the world as consumers of our content. From Dallas to Baywatch, CNN to MTV, media help us foist the American Way on to the eager and reluctant alike. What our media empires didn't realise, of course, is that the wires they were using to extend their reach do not have directional allegiance.
Information passes back and forth with equal speed and force.
For, while broadcast media empower the programmer, interactive technology empowers the cultural organism. The wires that were meant to serve as conduits for social programming serve instead as channels for feedback. Rather than securing America's position as the dictator of global values, the Internet has unleashed the world upon America. Neither will be the same again. While broadcast media tend to deaden and desensitise, interactivity is a wake-up call.