Yet another merge.

It's doubtful that anyone still makes a strong distinction between Real Life (whatever that is) and online life - what once was referred to as "virtual". As more and more of our lives moved online, and perhaps as Facebook demanded of its users that they use their Real Life names, that distinction lost its meaning. When television watchers at home tweet their comments and observations on the football game they're watching (and even some of the players apparently tweet during the game) there's no point in trying to determine where Real Life ends and online life starts. When it comes to commercials many brands have advertised via YouTube campaigns or via other online tools. There's nothing new about that. But even so, the idea that someone watching a commercial on television actually takes the advertiser up on the offer to watch an entire commercial, rather than only its intro, by clicking in to YouTube seems one step too far. I think I'd prefer to return to the days when we clearly separated between the "real" and the online, or at least to when, upon "entering" our online lives, we kept some of the real outside.



Go to: The tailless wooly internet behemoth.