By BEN HUH [Paid Content] – For all our lives, one device has dominated and shaped our cultural understanding of the world. The television has consumed years of our lives and has been our window to the outside world. In fact, going all the way back to the 1930s, the television has physically occupied a central place in our family lives. It wasn’t until the popularization of internet that the cultural hegemony of television has come into question. But boy, are we questioning it now.

With its ability to remix content, satire and criticism, Internet Culture is slowly chipping away at the cultural fortress built by television, radio and other forms of mass media—commonly referred to as Popular Culture. While many of us casually participate in this process online, we’re unaware of the sea change that’s occurring. Status updates, social networking, blogging and other habits have given rise to Internet Culture and now, internet users have created more content than mass media has created since the invention of the printing press. We have started to take control of the culture that molds our world view—taking the control away from the powerful in the media and giving it to our unwashed peers.

The challenge for big media companies is not just financial. They have to find a way to embrace the power of their users and change their thought process and attitude towards their customers, while not alienating the creator-centric model that currently pays the bills.

Continued at Paid Content | More Chronicle & Notices.