I think it just might be.
Big Think is a video site along the lines of a YouTube or Revver. But there is one major difference:
Our task is to move the discussion away from talking heads and talking points, and give it back to you. That is Big Think’s mission. In practice, this means that our information is truly interactive. When you log onto our site, you can access hundreds of hours of direct, unfiltered interviews with todays leading thinkers, movers and shakers.
I love the idea and the implementation is brilliant. The site is light and easy to navigate. You can search the brains or the topic that the brains are talking about. The list of people who have opinions on the site is endless and will keep you busy for hours.
You can also create ideas to throw in to the mix. I am not exactly sure how your ideas are added and who gets to feature on the site and who doesn’t.
Nevertheless I think that principal behind the approach is an essential one that will start to become very important very soon. That point is excessive and irrelevant information overload online.
I can’t get through it all. Big Think seems to be one of the first to boldly state that they have authoritative people speaking about topics that interest readers. This is a smart move. Make a statement and run with it.
What I love about the site is the focus no the idea that the author or speaker is talking about. You can agree, disagree or stay neutral in your opinion and vote accordingly. You can join debate around the idea and maybe even chat to the brain behind it. The topics are current, relevant and debated in detail. The substance is substantial and allows for intellectual people to interact on relevant levels with one another.
Information is going to have to become more relevant, centred, informative and important. The source of the information is also extremely important. Blogs have almost made the source irrelevant as many people read an opinion and adopt it. This is great to a point and for me that point is fast approaching. I find myself looking for people’s blogs who actually have experience, knowledge, qualifications and provide me with a reason to read them other than “I have a pc and internet and I can like to use blogger”.
Information is king, content is king and we have known this for a while. But it’s time that this becomes a focus for websites. I think that Big Think has done just that and at just the right time.
