It seems like a lot of the commentary about social media is framed through the analogy of streaming media, where the consumer picks and chooses among a set of platforms and the sorts of content each one offers. I suppose that makes sense, as I would guess that is how the vast majority of the tech commentariat approaches their streaming media.

I wonder if, for the general (non-technical) public, the more appropriate analogy is the TV that is always on in the background or the radio station that is playing over the ceiling speakers at the dentist’s office. In other words, it is a preprogrammed flow of stuff that they expect to be there for them to dip in and out of.