When can I become part of "we"?
I just saw an ad for the We Media Community:
You are invited to join, influence, inform and inspire the We Media Community. We are a global network of companies and individuals committed to harnessing the power of media, communication and human ingenuity for the common good.Normally, I would ignore these things since their description of being a part of "We" didn't include the words "drunk" or "arrested" or "hid in the bathroom to sneak into an REM concert." But their next event is at the University of Miami and I have lots of fuzzy memories from that place. Not as a student, no. What the hell are you thinking? But I had a friend who went, and I used to go there for stuff.
Once we hid in the bathroom to sneak into an REM concert because my friend couldn't get us all tickets. And we got drunk at The Rat. But I'm not totally culturally bankrupt; I'm pretty sure I remember "attending" performances of A Funny Happened on the Way to the Forum and A Midsummer Night's Dream at The Ring. (And did I see Squeeze there?) Some guy at an art show liked my pants (I used to paint them. Not paint them on with body paint like I might do for a special occasion at the library, but paint artwork on my pants. Once Penn Jillette told me he liked my pants, and a gang of hooligans on the subway in NY admired them enough not to kill me.)
I need to remind myself that "media" is plural, so it really bothers me that this event continues to use it as singular, like they mean, "one global media." Call me paranoid, but I don't ever want to see "one global" anything. Unless my face is on the money.
We Media says (say?):
As a member and participant in the We Media Community, you and your company will do well by doing good. You will be better-positioned to identify and respond to opportunities for innovation, to achieve greater social impact through your work, and to expand your knowledge, perspective and professional network.So they're inclusive of everyone, excluding non-members. The good news is, I can join for free.
Members tap into the shared knowledge and collective intelligence of a global, cross-sector community of thinkers, leaders and innovators who inspire and learn from each other, create new relationships and develop new projects to benefit all segments of society.
I'm still not sure what they do, but if they're willing to accept me as a member, they can't know what they are doing.
One of the events lists: Wednesday, Feb. 27, 5:30 Mojito Reception In The Grove. I'm not a huge fan of the mojito since I got hit for $9.50 for one in Key West, but it's a tasty beverage. And if you've never had one, try the Bacardi malt liquor mojito in a bottle: yum. It's good enough since you probably won't find a good mojito up where it snows, anyway.
The sad thing about their convention is that every event description sounds like this:
Journalism as a CauseThere's a lot of talk about money. And business. And money. And I'm not sure how the media can help the world. They can report on events, but is that enough? Does simple awareness solve problems? It's like that Sam Kinison joke about the those television charities where they show the starving kids and beg for money to feed the children: "Fuck, I know the FILM crew could give this kid a sandwich!"
As the economics of large-scale industrial journalism give way to the disruption and innovation of a digital, connected culture, new models of financing and practicing journalism build on lessons from social entrepreneurship in other fields. Social entrepreneurs breath new life into an old idea: journalism makes the world better. It matters. Investments in journalism produce social as well as financial returns.
But I kinda want to go so I can listen to ten different speakers say, "It's PEOPLE. The media is PEOPLE. PEOPLE are the solution." And when I raise my hand to ask a question, "No, not you, effinglibrarian. We're talking about the PEOPLE."
Oh, sorry. I always make that mistake.
