Besides: I don't get paid for this piece unless you read at least 250 words. Look at the top left of this page at the "About.com Radio" logo. Do you see that red ball in "About.com"
Look at it now.
Did you see it?
It's really a camera and it scans your retina as you read. That's how we know if you've read 250 words or more.
Okay, it's not a camera yet...but someday, it might be because we are a society enamoured with recording, viewing, and hearing video, audio, and every medium in between. Our love of constant media attention has given rise to a love of TV "reality" shows while we barely ever question the non-reality of fake photoshopped images and doctored videos we expose ourselves to daily on the Internet.
He Said a Mouthful
Media analyst Marshall McLuhan said it in 1964: "The medium is the message."
We believe media. We trust new media - or old media with new tricks.
Radio is partly to blame in this chicanery. When someone listens to the radio and hears a voice, they usually assume the person is "live." That's because "recorded" is the new "live" just as digital is the new "black."
Again, I'm am taunting you with half-finished statements and compounding the problem. Can't I just explain one thing before I pivot into another tangent?
Actually, No.
I can't help it. I'm in radio and that's what we often do. We get on the air, tease you by telling you something "is coming up" (like a contest or a song) and then do something else - like four minutes worth of commercials.
We call this "programming."
I must admit, it is somewhat unfortunate for you that you have stumbled onto this piece on a day I am feeling
1. Very Sarcastic and...
2. Under a deadline.
