You (Time Person of the Year)

Cover of the December 25, 2006 issue. Gray area is a reflective mirror surface.

"You" were chosen in 2006 as Time magazine's Person of the Year. This award recognized the millions of people who anonymously contribute user-generated content to wikis (including Wikipedia), YouTube, MySpace, Facebook and the multitudes of other websites featuring user contribution.[1][2]

While the status had been given before to inanimate objects, with the personal computer being the "Machine of the Year" for 1982,[3][2] as well as collections of people or an abstract representative of a movement, the choice of "You" attracted criticism from commentators in publications such as The Atlantic for being too much of a pop culture gimmick.[4][2] A New York Daily News article named the 2006 award naming one of the ten most controversial "Person of the Year" moments in the history of Time.[2] However, the news-magazine experienced generally successful sales.

Background

While most earlier choices for "Person of the Year" have been historically important individuals, some of them infamous rather than internationally popular (Ayatollah Khomeini was 1979's "Man of the Year"),[2][5] a few were inanimate. The personal computer was the "Machine of the Year" for 1982,[3] while the "Endangered Earth" was the "Planet of the Year" for 1988.[6][2] Collections of people as well as a symbolic representative of multiple individuals had also won the award before; for example, "U.S. Scientists" were named "Men of the Year" in 1960.[5]

Similar media awards had already recognized the growing significance of online community and user-generated content: "You!" were ranked first in Business 2.0's list of "50 people who matter now" in July 2006;[7] while ABC News had listed bloggers as "People of the Year" for 2004.[8]

Decision

In accordance with Time's annual process, different bureaus suggested different candidates.[9] "You", or "the YouTube guys", was floated in November as a possible winner.[10] Readers' opinions were canvassed online.[9] The final decision was made by managing editor Richard Stengel.

The decision was announced in Time's December 13, 2006 issue.[1] The cover of the magazine featured an iMac computer monitor with a reflective mylar pane appearing as the window of a YouTube-like video player, intended to reflect as online content the visage of whoever picks up the magazine.[1][11] The time remaining indicator in the image indicates a total duration of "20:06," a visual pun connecting this ubiquitous bit of interface design to the year in which it gained ascendancy in Time's view. Stories on the new user-driven media dynamic were provided by NBC editor Brian Williams[12] and Time magazine editors Lev Grossman[1] and Richard Stengel.[13] As Grossman describes, "It's about the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing and how that will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes."

Criticism

The choice was criticized for being a short-sighted gimmick which ignored the existence of many prominent individuals that had shaped the events of the past year. Pundit Paul Kedrosky called it an "incredible cop-out," and he also speculated that the selection marked "some sort of near-term market top for user-generated content".[14] Commentator Kevin Friedl noted that the award and cover design recalled the mirror viewed by the protagonist, the Dude, of The Big Lebowski, via which the viewer's reflection was framed as Time's "Man of the Year".[11]

In December 2012, journalist David A. Graham wrote for The Atlantic that he thought Time had shown "a pattern of lackluster choices" and the overall promotional nature of the process shouldn't be treated as news, rather simply viewed as marketing. He remarked, "Is anyone out there not sick of people ironically listing 'Time Person of the Year, 2006' in Twitter bios, a reference to the gimmicky selection of 'You' that year?"[4]

Additionally, the decision raised some criticism as it was described as ideological and even hypocritically political. Some weeks before the announcement, Time decided to ask the users in a poll, "Who Should Be Person of the Year?" After several weeks, the poll winner by a wide margin was Hugo Chávez, the leader of Venezuela, with 35% of the votes. The president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came in second. Time decided to ignore those results and did not mention them in the announcement of their "Person of the Year". Its critics underlined that Time ignores its digital democracy among its readers. Time supporters argue that an online poll is not representative as it has no scientific value. The hyperlink to the online poll results has been removed.[15] A 2014 New York Daily News article, which named the "You" naming as one of the ten most controversial "Person of the Year" moments in the history of Time, also remarked that "2006 had its fair share of newsmakers" awhile highlighting both "Venezuela President Hugo Chavez and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad".[2]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Lev Grossman (December 13, 2006). "Time's Person of the Year: You". Time. Retrieved February 14, 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Time Magazine's 10 most controversial People of the Year". Daily News. New York. 10 December 2014.
  3. 1 2 "TIME Magazine Cover: The Computer, Machine of the Year - Jan. 3, 1983". Time.
  4. 1 2 "Everyone Should Ignore Time's Person of the Year". The Atlantic. 2012-12-19. Retrieved 2015-10-13.
  5. 1 2 "Person of the Year: A Photo History". Time. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  6. ↑ "TIME Magazine Cover: Endangered Earth, Planet of the Year - Jan. 2, 1989". Time.
  7. ↑ "50 people who matter now". Money.cnn.com. 2006-06-21. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
  8. ↑ "People of the Year: Bloggers". Abcnews.go.com. 2004-12-30. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
  9. 1 2 Cohn, David (December 19, 2007). "Behind Time Magazine's Choice for Person of the Year -- An Interview with Stephen Koepp". Archived from the original on April 6, 2009.
  10. ↑ Time Magazine Has an Award For "You" by David Cohn on November 15, 2006
  11. 1 2 Time's Person of the Year - An Initial Response by Kevin Friedl on December 18, 2006
  12. ↑ Enough About You, Brian Williams, Dec. 16, 2006
  13. ↑ Now It's Your Turn, Richard Stengel, Dec. 16, 2006
  14. ↑ Paul Kedrosky (16 December 2006). "I Call "Market Top" on "You"". Infectious Greed. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  15. ↑ "Chavez wins "Person of the Year" poll ... Time magazine ignores result". Hands Off Venezuela. 18 December 2006. Retrieved 2009-12-05.

External links

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