Today Time magazine named "You" person of the year to recognize the explosion in consumer-generated media. So I thought I'd honor an old form of consumer-generated media that blinks brightly this time of year. Christmas lights represent a tradition of energetic individuals investing time, money and creativity to share their celebration with others. I've yet to see ads affixed to a Christmas light display, but if it isn't already happening, I'm sure it will soon be commonplace. What the rise in Christmas light displays, Flickr photo sharing and Youtube videos demonstrate is just how much people want to express their creative urges and share their creations with others. Big marketers seem to think that "consumers" generate "media," but what is really happening is that people are sharing their creative spirit with other people because that's part of what makes us "human." We've always "generated media" what's radical is the degree to which our personal creative expressions have been commercialized.

Jeff

(photo from Flickr)