What is Next for Oprah?

On Friday Oprah Winfrey announced she is calling it quits. Next season; season 25 will be the last season of the Oprah Show with the last show scheduled to air in June 2011.

In her announcement she talks about her relationship with her viewers and how some people have literally grown up with Oprah. What does that mean? What do you think people influenced by Oprah for 25 years are like?

I also have to wonder, what might have influenced her decision. She states that 25 years seemed like a good time to end the show.  Does Oprah need a break personally or perhaps her personal relationships are going to take precedence?

Change shifts the dynamics of relationships. How will conversations with Oprah change in the next 18 months? Will we witness a shift in her consciousness? Will she reveal her reasons for ending the show and what her next steps might be? Will the space she leaves reveal opportunities for others?

When I think of Oprah and her place in American culture, I am certain of one thing. Change is consistent. It is happening faster and faster via technology, population, and progressive entertainment and politics. With America being one of the youngest countries in the world, are we better positioned to handle change or are we going along unwillingly kicking and screaming all the way? Can you imagine the conversations of the future? In three years from now, will anybody be talking about Oprah, Facebook or GM?

I propose these thoughts to you to give you some questions to present in conversations this week. This might be stretching it, but I believe Oprah resigning is somehow connected to culture shifts that are happening via social media. Do we need to receive our news and information from news sources and TV personalities or do we need to rely on each other for it? I think it is more important than ever to invest time in both our personal stance on things and our personal relationships. Change is inevitable, living our lives void of human connection should not be, true connection comes from knowing who you are and being able to articulate and share that with others. As the saying goes, “If you don’t stand for something, you fall for everything.”

You can watch Oprah’s announcement via YouTube by clicking on the image above. (Note: I do not recommend clicking through on other links off this YouTube page as the post is from a third party not connected to the show)