Did you know that Time news magazine chose ‘you’ as the ‘Person of the year 2006’?
Every year Time magazine entitles a particular person, group, object or idea, that has had the maximum influence on the events of that particular year, as the ‘person of the year’. But, there was a slight twist in 2006.
Person of the Year is an annual declaration of the Time news magazine of the United States. This title is given to a person, group of people, unmanned group, idea, or a nonliving object that has most influenced the occurrence of various events, good or bad, in the entire year.
Until 1999, the person of the year was called man or woman of the year but now, this title can be given to anything and everything.
Even when the title says ‘person’ of the year, it’s not always that the title is given to a particular person. It might be given to a couple, a group of people, or even inanimate objects.
For example: In 2020, both Joe Biden (current President of the US) and Kamala Harris won the title of the ‘Time magazine person of the year 2020’. Similarly, in 2005, three philanthropists Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, and Bono were given the title for being good samaritans.
At times, unmanned groups are given the person of the year title.
For example: In 1960, it was given to all the scientists of the United States, to middle Americans in 1969, to American women in 1975, and of course, to you, in 2006, when the World Wide Web became a tool to bring together small contributions of millions of people.
Certain inanimate objects have also received the title in the past. The computer became the machine of the year in 1982, whereas the endangered planet Earth became the planet of the year 1988. President Bush became the person of the year in 2004 and featured on the cover.
After reading about the Time magazine person of the year 2006, also check facts about Time person of the year 2019 and Time magazine person of the year 2012.
Must Read Facts About Time Person Of The Year 2006
‘You’ was chosen to be given the title of the person of the year 2006 by Time magazine. This title was thoughtfully given to recognize the human efforts in the field of browsing, the internet, and digital democracy and eventually to enhance their own game.
Lev Grossman said that the award is given to you for starting a new digital revolution and improving yourself day by day. In 2006 the World Wide Web became a tool to bring together small contributions of millions of people.
The cover of the magazine shows a mirror and says that 'you' control the age of information and the magazine welcomes you to your own world. Editor Richard Stengel says that it’s creators, modifiers, and users who are changing the Information Technology Age and not the founders.
This trend began in 1927, to choose a man of the year was very thoughtful of the editors in order to regain the public's confidence and also to initiate a freshly new tradition.
Time magazine had lost public interest and confidence and was trolled among people for not highlighting the star Charles Lindbergh after his trans-Atlantic flight which was said to be historic.
The editor's team was highly embarrassed by their negligence and came up with this idea to cover it up. Fortunately, this negligence proved to be a boon for Time magazine since the 'person of the year' became a thrill for their readers and is a buzzword even today.
Hence, this goes without saying that the first Time magazine covered the ‘man of the year’ as Charles Lindbergh.
Amazing Facts About 2006 Time Person Of The Year
Grossman said that the creators, modifiers, and users of the World Wide Web have formed an unbreakable interlinked bond like a healthy community, and hence, their bond deserved appreciation. Time’s technical scriptwriter and book critic, Grossman, says that this linkage will not only change the world but also change the way this world is changing.
He considers the world wide web as a tool that brings all the creators and workers from different corners of the world and makes them better.
The only person who has received this title thrice is Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was the Time magazine person of the year for 1932, 1934, and 1941.
Since this tradition began, other than a few, every president of the United States of America has been the person or man of some of the other years. Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, and Gerald Ford are the exceptions in this case.
This was an attempt by the magazine to consider the efforts of the uncountable number of people who work hard to present content on various platforms and websites such as Wikipedia, YouTube, Google, and various large and small scale sites that provide user-created content. Like the two sides of a coin, every decision has likers as well as dis-likers.
In the same way, even when many people accepted this new change, others reasonably criticized it.
Cool Facts About Person Of The Year 2006
MySpace was purchased by News Corp for $580 million and it had more than 130 million users from across the world, whereas YouTube is owned by Google Inc.
YouTube experiences more than 100 million views per day. Editor Stengel says that at one time, this power lied only with the journalists who could take us to different places.
But now, with the help of global media, everyone has the power to travel across the world from their own chair. A person can video call or text his or her relative or friend from one corner of the world to another.
Sometimes, some special titles are given to some special people such as Winston Churchill became the Man of the Half-Century 1949, and Albert Einstein became the Person of the Century in 1999.
There's no fixed process to decide the person of the year from among the millions of candidates. Mainly for the entertainment of the readers, an online annual poll is run by Time magazine to take the reader’s field of interest but this poll has nothing to do with the final result.
Every year, the team of editors of the magazine research and decides the apt winner or winner of the title for that specific year.
Even though the final decision of the Person of the year 2006 was a bit peculiar, it proved to be successful for the magazine. After 2006, the result was quite normal and regular. In 2007, Vladimir Putin became the person of the year and Barack Obama was presented with the title in the following year, 2008.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for time magazine person of the year 2006 then why not take a look at the person of the year 2013 or 2009 time person of the year.
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As a highly motivated, detail-oriented, and energetic individual, Olaleye's expertise lies in administrative and management operations. With extensive knowledge as an Editor and Communications Analyst, Olaleye excels in editing, writing, and media relations. Her commitment to upholding professional ethics and driving organizational growth sets her apart. She has a bachelor's degree in English Literature from the University of Benin, Edo State.
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