Gutenbergers & Googlers
Leonard Sweet‘s new book Viral is a very interesting cultural study breaking modern society into two groups – Gutenbergers and Googlers. Gutenbergers are those shaped by the technology of the printing press, and Googlers are those shaped by the technology of the internet. Here are some of Sweet’s distinctions between the two.
The Miehle P.P. & Mfg. Co. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
- Gutenbergers still write checks to pay bills.
- Gutenbergers still use postage stamps.
- Gutenbergers: It’s necessary to be right. Googlers: It’s necessary to be in relationship.
- Gutenbergers: Need a good light for reading. Googlers: Need to recharge their reader.
- Gutenbergers: Capital campaign. Googlers: Homeless campaign.
- The Gutenberger default setting is print.
- For Googlers there is nothing worse than talk that doesn’t walk.
- Googlers are wired to participate.
- Googlers rarely wear a watch.
- Googlers have cut the landline cords permanently.
- Googlers love to play games.
- Googlers are holistic thinkers.
- Gutenbergers move from one situation to another, one sector to another, and become somewhat different people in each one.
- The Gutenberg church sought to regulate its people.
- In a Google world, you don’t standardize, you customize.
Sweet refers to those of us born in the Gutenberg era but quite happily adapted to the Google world as immigrants. So where do you fit in?
Related articles
- Viral Highlights (acmul.wordpress.com)
from my notebook 