Reel Pop

Studios like reality shows because they're cheap. No big name actors to pay, few (if any) sets to build. And you like reality shows because they're all about you. Or if not about you, then about people like you, whose faults and foibles are blessedly (cursedly!) similar to yours, or your coworkers, or that distant Aunt you've wanted to vote off the beach house for years now.

Social networks = same thing. They're all about you, and people like you (your friends), and what you and yours say about each other. No big name actors to pay and only one infinitely expandable set to build. People often use the phrase "six degrees of separation" to explain  how social networks work, but "My Top 8" seems like a better way to describe the numerology of narcissism.

And so, amid all this you-ness, comes the ironically-titled "Independent," a reality show produced by Mark Burnett which will debut on MySpace (and possibly TV) next Spring. The series pits would-be politicians in a competition for a $1 million prize, which must be either donated to a political cause or be used as seed money for the winner's own election campaign. In other words, Sanjaya for president.

That's the improbable conceit. Or maybe not improbable, given our culture's DeLillo-like fascination with itself and its d-list, self-made, all-singing, all-dancing stars. Not to mention our ever-increasing fascination with all things virtual, like the upcoming online presidential debates. Mark Glaser asks an important question: Who's to say this is better?

Reagan was an actor. A future president may not even get that far. Be yourself, be elected. A billion texting thumbs await, quivering above their voting machines.