Letterman laughs, but the joke’s on him…

This is a funny dialogue between Kevin Spacey and Dave Letterman as Spacey explains Twitter to Dave.

There’s the expected banter, but the key moment is when Spacey says, “this will go out to 800,000 people which is more than watch your show.”

Now, even if the number’s aren’t exactly right, this moment signifies the Ridiculous Reach of the Individual and the shift in power from broadcast media to democratized media.

Spacey doesn’t need a platform (like a network TV show) like Letterman does so he can communicate without the cost infrastructure, which makes him more valuable. (A separate conversation is warranted about the fact that Spacey only has 800k followers because he benefitted from broadcast media, but that’s a side point…albeit an important one.)

What Letterman thinks is funny is, ironically, the very thing that will ebb away at his own value.