Sophie chose wisely
Viewed in the cold light of day, man, was it ever a good idea to shitcan Search Engine.
The Tea Makers covered this issue before, and none of the decisions of that time (August last year) has been discredited by events. (Exception: Merlin Mann stopped being reprehensible.)
- Spark does what it claims to do: It talks about the influence of digital technology on our lives. New TVO-brand Search Engine votes a straight Copyleft ticket. (Guest on its first episode? Cory Doctorow.)
- Spark scoops itself and posts full-length interviews with guests, often in advance of the actual episode that includes an edited version. Search Engine crowdsourced a toast for the host.
- Spark locates a researcher who cut his workplace E-mail load in half and gives him enough space to explain how you could do it too. Search Engine finds a way to talk about blind people – through the lens of Copyleft – then gets it quite wrong.
- Spark got its runtime doubled. Search Engine gets recorded in Jesse’s kitchen, as depicted in the trailer TVO is running after Reach for the Top.
- Spark’s hostess has a slightly fake stage laugh reminiscent of Shelagh Rogers. Search Engine’s host is a tall drink of water who continues to allow himself to be represented in horrifically unflattering photographs.