You, the 2.0 Citizen, Is Time's Person of the Year

Well, it looks like we were off by two years. Compare the two images below. The one on the right was created by Hypergene back in 2004. The one on the left came out today. Eerily similar eh? We needed the two years. This is a shift that's bigger than blogging and citizen journalism.

 

Yes, "You" were named this year's "Person of the Year" for 2006 tonight by Time magazine. Citing the explosive growth and influence of user-generated Internet content such as blogs, video-file sharing sites and social networks and digital democracy, the magazine picked us this year Reuters reports.

"For seizing the reins of the global media, for founding and framing the new digital democracy, for working for nothing and beating the pros at their own game, Time's Person of the Year for 2006 is you," Lev Grossman wrote. 

More on Time's Web site: cover story, sidebar on 15 who matter, story on citizen journalists, the Web 2.0 boom, taxonomy and a Second Life piece. Let's give ourselves a big round of applause!!!

::Later: Josh Hallett has a different take saying the cover should read "Them" as in I don't know anyone who posts on YouTube. That's all them kids.

Comments

[Josh Hallett]

So what about people that don't take part in any of the user-generated-content that TIME speaks of?

Should they get a different cover that says, "Them"?

[David]

Anytime it's not actually a person, it just feels like a cop-out.

[Mike Abundo]

On "Them": Just by passively feeding data to search and recommendation engines, even people who don't create content can now determine which content makes the front page.

[Jake McKee]

Personally, I'm stoked beyond belief at the cover story. It's good for all of us advocates, period.

[sabara]

Sabara's Symbian Installers

[Shore]

Thank you to TIME magazine. They have given the bloggers and other citizen journalists to be featured.