Those Darn Internets, NBC Style

By now, you have certainly seen the viral video of Katie Couric and the Today crew musing over what is this Internet from 1994. Obviously, it's embarrassing and funny today, and skewers some celebri-journalists.

Let's be honest. How many of you that were in adult jobs in 1994 got the internet? They're reaction was not dissimilar to others. I remember wondering why in the world one of our former assistant coaches who had gone to work for Rice was checking this email thing in 1993. I know I bought my first HTML manual after the 1994 CoSIDA convention in Denver. I figured it might be the new thing, but no one really understood it would be THE thing.

What is more significant is the reactions, notably that NBC sacked the people responsible for posting the video. Why? Violation of rights agreements and all sorts of official sounding excuses.

The reaction reveals more. A lack of willingness to mock and be made fun of -- in other words, a little more out of touch with what the two-way exchange that the social internet has become.

No one likes when something viral starts on them, but is it worth the effort to squash or do you need to roll with it. Fans do this to each other -- to their friends -- on line. If we want them to be our friends of the program, the collective we needs to be more willing to accept and laugh at ourselves, too.

Or, as both Pink or the late Heath Ledger would say: Why So Serious?