A lot can be said on behalf of serendipity. In your daily
newspaper, you might learn about a new book -- on neuroscience,
say, or folk music -- and, to your great surprise, it might
pique your interest and broaden your horizons. You might run
into a story on how to improve your health or save for
retirement, and it might lead you to alter your habits, even if
you don’t much like thinking about your health or your
retirement.
You might see a story on Syria, and it might move you, maybe even alter your life, even though you couldn’t have imagined yourself being interested in Syria. Well-run newspapers offer stories that intrigue, entertain and affect readers who come across those stories only by happenstance, not because they ordered them in advance.
In the newspaper business, complete personalization hasn’t yet arrived, but it may be on its way. For example, Facebook Inc. (FB) has created a news feed, with a secret algorithm, that uses your previous clicks to make selections for you. Mark Zuckerberg has said that the feed will operate as a “personalized newspaper.” Then there’s News360, an application that monitors what you choose to read and, “by learning what you enjoy, brings you content that you’ll find interesting and important.”
If he wishes, Bezos could easily take the Washington Post in this direction. A redesigned website, or an app, might create headlines and sort stories, ideas and opinions on the basis of people’s previous choices. If you are bored by politics, or if new science-fiction movies are what most interest you, then Your Post could be set up accordingly. Why shouldn’t people see what they want?
The best answer is that in communications, as in daily life, serendipity is highly desirable -- an important part of freedom and self-government, not an obstacle to them. Those who read only what they identify in advance end up narrowing their horizons; they may create echo chambers of their own design.
- More Here
You might see a story on Syria, and it might move you, maybe even alter your life, even though you couldn’t have imagined yourself being interested in Syria. Well-run newspapers offer stories that intrigue, entertain and affect readers who come across those stories only by happenstance, not because they ordered them in advance.
In the newspaper business, complete personalization hasn’t yet arrived, but it may be on its way. For example, Facebook Inc. (FB) has created a news feed, with a secret algorithm, that uses your previous clicks to make selections for you. Mark Zuckerberg has said that the feed will operate as a “personalized newspaper.” Then there’s News360, an application that monitors what you choose to read and, “by learning what you enjoy, brings you content that you’ll find interesting and important.”
If he wishes, Bezos could easily take the Washington Post in this direction. A redesigned website, or an app, might create headlines and sort stories, ideas and opinions on the basis of people’s previous choices. If you are bored by politics, or if new science-fiction movies are what most interest you, then Your Post could be set up accordingly. Why shouldn’t people see what they want?
The best answer is that in communications, as in daily life, serendipity is highly desirable -- an important part of freedom and self-government, not an obstacle to them. Those who read only what they identify in advance end up narrowing their horizons; they may create echo chambers of their own design.
- More Here
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