Gwydion Suilebhan
A
thread 1/13
I've been thinking a great deal lately about National Geographic and the self-destructive fear of change. #ThreadChallenge
09:19 AM - May 16, 2023
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Gwydion Suilebhan
A
thread 2/13
In the late 20th century, when cable TV was entering the media ecosystem, National Geographic thumbed its 100+ year-old nose at the whole phenomenon.
09:20 AM - May 16, 2023
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Gwydion Suilebhan
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thread 3/13
The National Geographic Society considered itself a fixed, enduring thing. They had no interest in chasing fads like paid-for television.
09:21 AM - May 16, 2023
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Gwydion Suilebhan
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thread 4/13
That's why instead of the National Geographic Channel, we all watched the Discovery Channel instead.
09:22 AM - May 16, 2023
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Gwydion Suilebhan
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thread 5/13
Discovery, a new organization, embraced change. They saw the possibilities inherent in a new platform. And when the internet came along a generation or so later, they did it again.
09:23 AM - May 16, 2023
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Gwydion Suilebhan
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thread 6/13
National Geographic never caught up. They came late to both cable and the internet. They eventually waded in, but with trepidation, rather than confidence.
09:24 AM - May 16, 2023
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Gwydion Suilebhan
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thread 7/13
What were they afraid of losing? Basically, my grandparents.
09:25 AM - May 16, 2023
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Gwydion Suilebhan
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thread 8/13
See, like many others born in the early 20th century, my grandparents subscribed to National Geographic and kept every single issue they ever got.
09:26 AM - May 16, 2023
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Gwydion Suilebhan
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thread 9/13
They preserved them in neat binders that -- in truth -- they never went back to look at. They eventually ended up the trash. They were moldy.
09:26 AM - May 16, 2023
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Gwydion Suilebhan
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thread 10/13
The knowledge inside them was moldy, too. Because that's not how knowledge works. It isn't a fixed thing. It, too, changes.
09:27 AM - May 16, 2023
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Gwydion Suilebhan
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thread 11/13
The proliferation of cable channels gave us knowledge x1000 compared to what we once had. The internet gave us knowledge x a billion.
09:28 AM - May 16, 2023
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Gwydion Suilebhan
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thread 12/13
The only thing National Geographic can really teach us now is not to fear change. To wade into it with courage.

To think, as it were, outside the yellow rectangle.
09:32 AM - May 16, 2023
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Gwydion Suilebhan
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thread 13/13
May we all have the courage to do so. #ThreadChallenge
09:33 AM - May 16, 2023
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Gwydion Suilebhan
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In response to Cathy Hawks.
Very.
02:49 PM - May 16, 2023
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