John Birmingham missed his own appearance on ABC TV’s 7.30 Report last night talking about social media because his TV was on the blink. Instead he followed the whole thing on Twitter, but was edited down to some sound bytes.
Birmingham decided to continue the debate on his blog for the Brisbane Times. His main beef is that “nearly twenty minutes of raving about the inherent awesomeness of new media forms also hit the cutting floor”.
And the most awesome aspect of the web? Breaking social isolation. Birmingham reckons “most of my new friends, and they are real friends for the most part, have come from the unreal world of the web, from the supposedly isolating, distancing digital realms.”
Birmingham was also pleased he “did manage to get some pimpage for [new book] After America into the background vision.” Reviews for the book are coming in including one from the Australian Book Review reflecting “This is Birmingham as the professional writer: the perpetual freelancer who has turned his diverse interests and considerable talents to the production of narrative in its most currently remunerative market.”