The Internet as a distribution medium makes people less civilized. You don’t have to sit down at 7 PM for a show that airs at 7; you don’t have to pay for an album you don’t feel like paying for; and you don’t have to worry about what someone will think of you if you hide behind a nom de net.

If there’s such a thing as a noble savage, you’ll find it on 4chan. As the current recession kills off old media companies, an overwhelming share of what we consume is going to be distributed in this ad hoc, barbaric way. The only people with a head start here are anthropologists. Some of them are going to get rich.