Really, I’ve tended to interpret the words “infotainment” and “edutainment” not just as words which describe forms of entertainment which are also informational or educational, but as describing forms of particularly corny, overly sincere information or educational bits which are trying to pass themselves off as entertaining — and usually wind up failing in the process. I’ve also tended to understand the phrase as having been fairly recently coined because it followed on the heels of a spate of afterschool (and inschool) specials that were especially rampant in the 80s. So when you say “infotainment” I hear a snarky little word which implies that while both inforamation and entertainment are (theoretically) present, they usually cancel each other out. I may tend to mentally blend a little bit of “infomercial” in there, too, though. I may tend to focus too much on the idea that infotainment inherantly misses the interests of its core audience (sometimes by battering its audience over the head with its message… sometimes by completely misjudging its emotional mark, eh?).

I love the idea that these certain sets of activities we engage in over the internet resonate most because they allow us the ability to exercise our emotions. That makes sense and it also allows for a there there that might not have been fully there before. Yet adding “-tainment” to the wordlet “emo” seems to imply that the emotions in play are not real, and the entertainment value in question is more than lowbrow and instantly forgettable.

Unrelated (maybe) to this is a blog post I thought you’d be interested in, Andy:
http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?414

But to be entertained specifically by one’s *own* behavior that is emotional — ie, funny or dramatic conversations, group disagreements and catharsis, sensual or sexual dialogue, etc. — rather than the presentation of packaged content that has an emotional load… that’s what I’m referring to as “emotainment.”

So, to be clearer… You read a news item and find it interesting and entertaining = infotainment. An editorial on the subject makes you angry = well, just entertainment or more infotainment. But if you can get on a blog or chat room or IM session and spend 2 hours that night going back and forth with other people — either commiserating or arguing about that editorial subject — you’ve had 2 hours of emotainment. You’ve been, to a degree, entertained by your own ability to generate a dramatic, emotional state, rather than just absorbing or observing one from a content creator.

Maybe I should call it “autoemotainment?” ; )

Which isn’t even vaguely far-fetched. The rest of your stuff isn’t off point, but just sayin’.