Space connections

So yesterday I watched Felix Baumgartner jump from his balloon back to Earth. I wasn't alone in doing this, apparently 8 million people were watching the live YouTube stream at the time of his jump. Now apart from the fact that I wouldn't even be able to blink my eyes if I knew 8 million others were watching me do it, I think this really shows how information and the sharing of information has taken a giant leap forward in the past few years. 5 years ago, nobody could have imagined something like this being streamed on the Internet for that many people to watch. Information has become available to all in so many ways, it is almost impossible to keep up. I know a lot of people are angry at Facebook and Google because of their 'share everything' policy, as it sends your information to advertisers. But in general, the principle is undoubtedly very good. Also, I think it shows how humans all over the world are inherently similar in so many ways, which will do even more to connect people and possibly work against future misunderstandings, discrimination, and wars.
Yes, I know, I'm both an optimist and a pacifist.
In other space news today, there is a Dutch company, Mars One, aiming to settle the first human settlement on Mars around 2023. Not for any lofty scientific purposes, no, they want to make a reality series out of it. The audience would be able to select which group of settlers is allowed to go first, and then follow their every move. Voting people off would be a bit difficult, as once they land on Mars, they won't be able to ever go back again. This means that those crazy enough to go (they appear to have 1,000 applications already) will be stuck on Mars for the rest of their lives. And those lives will be streamed back to Earth 24 hours a day, for as long as they all shall live.
I am unsure what to think of this. I am uninterested in reality series personally, but not against them per se if the people participating are aware of what they are doing and have fully agreed to it. It is another side of the 'information free for all' I just mentioned. However, I do think the exploration of another planet may be a bit too serious to throw into a reality tv format. Then again, sponsoring and actually achieving the goal (a human settlement on Mars) may be easier to achieve this way than through academic/scientific missions, and if we have to choose between no exploration or exploration through commercial means, then the latter is probably the better option. Still, it feels different than watching Felix make his record jump, even if in principle, it is the same thing...