The Net has exposed me to ideas I've never heard of, and then lets me quickly
research anything that seems interesting; that's what "surfing" is all about.
Links and search engines are true serendipity generators.
Traditional media, on the other hand, has fragmented over the last twenty-five years;
special-interest cable channels and magazines, plus demographically-targeted
radio stations, let people stay with what they are comfortable with. Web sites,
though narrowly targeted, can quickly take you where you never expected to be;
it's the six degrees of separation idea.
Sunstein is right that relying just on "Where do you want to go today?" won't get
you very far in the end -- sometimes you need to go to places you never thought
you wanted to visit -- but the Net clearly helps this, not hinders it.
Slashdot Mirror
The Net has exposed me to ideas I've never heard of, and then lets me quickly research anything that seems interesting; that's what "surfing" is all about. Links and search engines are true serendipity generators.
Traditional media, on the other hand, has fragmented over the last twenty-five years; special-interest cable channels and magazines, plus demographically-targeted radio stations, let people stay with what they are comfortable with. Web sites, though narrowly targeted, can quickly take you where you never expected to be; it's the six degrees of separation idea.
Sunstein is right that relying just on "Where do you want to go today?" won't get you very far in the end -- sometimes you need to go to places you never thought you wanted to visit -- but the Net clearly helps this, not hinders it.