It’s been almost five weeks since the Deepwater Horizon disaster and barrels of oil continue to pour out of a broken pipe 5,000 feet below the ocean’s surface.
“Green” BP is trying to stave off a PR disaster, red-faced politicians are playing to the cameras and people in the seafood and tourism businesses are wondering how they’re going to make their mortgage payments.
But not everyone’s upset about what’s going on.
When was the last time you saw an article about Toyota’s unintended acceleration problem or their subsequent loss of brand value and sales? How about the Upper Big Branch mine explosion in West Virginia? Just a month and a half ago Massey Energy was the most hated company in the US and now both the company and chief executive Don Blakenship are about as well known as Rush Limbaugh’s third wife.
Here in the US, our attention spans are short and our memories are even shorter. Thanks to WiFi, our slavish dedication to our handheld devices, and up-to-the-minute programs such as Facebook and Twitter, we’re aware of everything that’s happening right now but have no recollection of what happened before.
People, we’ve been lied to… information isn’t power, it’s overwhelming. And it turns us into metaphorical asphalt – miles wide but inches deep.
The green revolution in Iran? Old news.
The earthquake in Haiti? Didn’t they fix that already?
Goldman Sachs? Yawn.
When the only thing that gets our attention is whatever just happened, nothing will matter for long. And for tomorrow’s marketers, Andy Warhol’s “fifteen minutes of fame” will seem like a lifetime.
Tags: BP, Deepwater, Facebook, Massey Energy, Oil spill, Rush LImbaugh, Toyota, Twitter, Upper Big Branch Mine, wifi
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This is your best yet. I hope I remember it.
Amen to that.
Excellent rumination Bruce!
Absolutely true. (Sadly) Just this weekend my 9 year old asked me if everything was now o.k. in Haiti and was surprised by my response and said wow but the earthquake was so long ago………..
Clear, concise, articulate and right on the money (pun intended?).
Keep ‘em coming.
I so agree with you on this one. I daydream about some sort of virus that shuts down all the jabbering for let’s say about a week and our only means of getting information is print again. We would have to read and formulate an opinion instead of being spoon fed one. We might even gather and talk. I am starting to hate Cable “News???” They should have stuck with movies but, now I have Netflix for that!
Exceptional. Until tomorrow.
Amen!
What were we talking about?
Hey Bruce – you’ve made this point a number of times, but besides complaining about it, what are you recommending? Attention spans and the media are what they are. Presuming you abhor the BP mess, how about mounting a campaign to support legislation to tighten the requirements and oversight on these companies, and step up the timeline for alternative energy?
So well written, so true, so disturbing – makes me hungry for memories, and full sentences and photographs instead of tweets. Pogo: “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
Yup, Sad but TRUE. Wait, what were you ranting about?
I can’t imagine what this short term focus is doing to our children, our economy, our ethics. I fear it’ll only get worse.
“The best place to hide something is in plain view”. Too much data is not much different than mis-information. In the past issuing mis-information was a tactic used to shape/control how others percieved something. Now add to it the ability by anyone to swamp the system with data so that many others will be unable to sort out the wheat from the chaff. In many cases it doesn’t even have to be a deliberate effort, it is happening by itself. How convenient.
WOW. Bruce – you should frame this one. Just Tweeted it for you. Brilliant. Great minds… I JUST posted about Paying Attention 2 days ago. Our inattention could very well be the nail in the coffin of this great country. And certainly has not done the world’s ecosystem any good. Keep up the great work,
Beth
I am researching every energy alternative possible, which I fully intend to advocate for and to use in as many projects as possible. The generation of the 60′s remembers how to stop using products & companies that “only focus on the bottom line”. “Start with ourselves, guys”.
Ouch! There is a saying in Spanish: ‘la verdad duele’. Truth… you are right…
The corporate media’s going to move on to the next “disaster of the month” before too long.
That’s why passionate and creative souls are needed to keep a spotlight on the things that shouldn’t be forgotten.
If people who care can compellingly show other people why they should care, movements are created.
Very well said! The optimist in me says, the knowledge is not forgotten but rests only a search away. We are capturing our past, we just need to inspire people to scour through it.
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BP claims that the oil spill has stopped coming out. Can we trust them after they lied about that photo?
I love the blog. Great post. It is very true, people must learn how to learn before they can learn. lol i know it sounds funny but its very true. . .