Time's Person of the Year Is . . .

YOU! And me. If you write a blog, you're a person of the year. If you've ever uploaded a video to YouTube or some music to Podcast, you're a person of the year. If you've ever posted a photo on Flickr, you're a person of the year. (I've done all of the above, so I guess that makes me the person of the year.)

Another place to check out is MySpace.com or the Japanese version that one of my Advanced Writing students is doing her paper on, Mixi.

Better, still, if you've contributed anything to Wikipedia, you are truly a person of the year. In fact, if you've even looked for any information on Wikipedia, that qualifies. And you're reading this blog, so that certainly makes you "with it"!

I thought Time magazine's choice was brilliant. This past year is when the media truly started belonging to the people. It's not that professional coverage and opinions no longer count, but a 15-year-old might write a movie review or a political commentary that is every bit as worth reading. And I'd much rather hear and see what's happening in Iraq from those in the field than from any so-called official news source.

Power to the People is here!