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In 2006, I founded ZapBoom Consulting, which specializes in the analysis of how digital
tools like cell phones and the Internet can be used in social change campaigns in developing countries. I have
researched and written reports on topics ranging from 
Blogger Ethan Zuckerman says that we should not pay too much attention to innovations just because they are shiny (ie, because of the "oh neat!" factor), but rather because they are "crunchy," that is, because they have lasting and widespread value.
I'm not sure if the innovation I'm about to write about is shiny or crunchy, but I know that I like it. It's called AddArt and, according to the blog Smart Mobs, it's a plug-in for the Mozilla browser that replaces ads in websites with art. It's not ready for download yet, but hopefully it will be soon.
This makes me very happy because, like most people, I hate being bombarded by ads. Sometimes it seems that our entire culture is "sponsored" by a corporation and I wonder how much of it would remain if there were no advertising. Basically, all media that you don't pay for outright would disappear. No radio (except NPR), no TV, no YouTube.
While advertising makes a lot of our media possible, I can't help wondering how much the interests of the advertisers determine the culture products we are exposed to. I am thinking specifically of Good Night and Good Luck, George Clooney's film about Edward R. Murrow's fight against the Communist-baiter Joseph McCarthy in the 1950's. Edward R. Murrow is the prototypical hero journalist, delivering news in the public interest. At one point, he is told that his boss is considering pulling his show off the air because the show's sponsor, the Alcoa aluminum company, might not like Murrow going after a Senator. The value Murrow was bringing to America was almost thwarted by the interests of one corporation.
Even though commercial sponsorship makes free and low-cost media possible, it comes at a cost. Our media, and our culture, are compromised by the commercial interests they must placate. Not only must media change to meet the needs of sponsors, media consumers who ingest advertising on a near-constant basis have little choice but to be constantly goaded into spending more and more and more.
We are now starting to have more choices. What TiVo did for television, I hope AddArt will do for the internet. Just give me media, please, without trying to sell me something.
