Tom Matrullo explains it all quite nicely.
In search, the actual identity, brand, of the specific information bearer, blurs, vanishes. For the specific bearer to attempt to call halt, require the seeker to declare his name, address, likes and dislikes ("Tiki bar or Quonset hut?"), is inappropriate in terms of the form. Any messenger seeking compensation for bearing messages is a contrivance, an anachronism, an obstinate effort to prolong the life of a being whose time is gone. It is seeking to break apart something that has fused into a single moment, a unified act of information seeking.
More than simply derailing a process, it's bad form: Trying to turn what is an instantaneous quest into a marketing moment, a branding opportunity, is like a pallbearer for a head of state suddenly dropping the casket and breaking into "Gotta Dance."
One shrinks, hits the back button and selects another source.
We'll get back to Tom in a minute but first, just a reminder - tin foil hat season is almost underway. Where's yours?
Posted by: bmo | March 31, 2005 at 03:58 PM