As if my intense hatred for Twitter and YouTube wasn’t already justified, Duran Duran bass player John Taylor (not to be confused with the former 49er great) recently wrote an editorial for BBC News, outlining the many pitfalls of social networking.
Despite all the good that comes from people updating friends on their daily eating habits, Taylor argues that over communication ultimately removes all the mystery out of life.
“When artists today are asked to Twitter their every thought, their every action, to record on video their every breath, their every performance, I believe they’re diluting their creative powers, their creative potency and the durability of their work,” he wrote. “And in the long run I believe they’re also diluting the magical power and the magnetic attraction that they can or will ever have over their audience.”
According to Taylor, it’s this very same lack of intrigue that has stifled a music industry that continually embraces mass appeal over creative substance.
“And the speed and growth of new technology, which has been so heralded and so much fuss has been made of, has actually served to disguise how little real growth is taking place at the artistic level.”
