Two points make a line. Three points make a trend. Here’s the next big thing: Participatory media.

For years, communication was limited to person-to-person, such as correspondence and conversation, and person-to-few, such as the town crier. Movable type and literacy expanded communication’s reach, made it more possible to carry communication greater distances.

In the 20th century, broadcasting made it possible for one-to-many and few-to-many communication. This was a great leap, but still communication was centralized and controlled bedcause the costs were very high.

The Internet nearly eliminated those costs and now, for the first time in history, we’re seeing many-to-many communication. Everyone can now be an author, have their music heard and their cinematic vision seen. It’s the democratization of media and it’s changing the world quickly. So quickly, in fact, that it often takes us by surprise.

Some bright people are using traditional media as an organizing principle for participatory media, where the audience collaborates on the performance. Here are three examples:

Beck: http://wired.com/wired/archive/14.09/beck.html

The Official Stephen Colbert Green Screen Challenge: http://www.codebot.org/colbert/