JULY 2 — The Internet excited lots of people because it broke down the barrier between the content providers and the audience.

It no longer takes a big organisation with humongous resources to be able to provide content for the masses.

As long as you know how to write, shoot or even compile data, you can start your own media.

Now, gadgets like the iPad are exciting people. Even I got excited (hence, I will be receiving my top-of-the-line 3G, 64G model next week!).

I’ve written about how the iPad, in presenting content, is going to change the media world. So have others such as my fellow columnist Shannon Teoh.

So you get the idea. Everyone is excited because it’s going to be so revolutionary for the media industry and the way people consume the media.

But I was thinking just the other day (it’s only every other day I do that). The iPad might actually be detrimental to how democratic the media is today.

The Internet made everything accessible by having free blogsites and social media tools for people to express themselves.

The iPad does not really allow this since everything runs on applications, or Apps. If you want to view anything, you need to get the App.

What if you want to create content and have it seen by people on the iPad? You would need to be able to present that content through Apps, wouldn’t you?

That brings us back to the issue of accessibility. How many normal civilians actually have the know-how to create and design these Apps?

Today, creating blogs and uploading videos is so simple because of the tools available that are so user-friendly.

But it takes more than just knowing how to click on a set template to create an App. Coding and programming is involved. Complicated!

Not so accessible anymore. Now it’s back to the big organisations with humongous resources which will be creating and providing the content.

So its obvious the iPad and its Apps-based media are really taking us two steps back in the wrong direction by snatching power away from our hands.

Some people might argue that the iPad is mobile and so we have the media right at our fingertips. We can get instant information anytime and comment on it too.

But hey, that is hardly a revolution now is it? We’ve been doing that for a long time now, haven’t we?

My take right now is that the iPad is going to be the next generation idiot box. It’s just going to make us consume and consume and consume.

I guess the “revolution” will really not be televised, huh?

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.