For years I have been trying to close the gap between two opposing truths. Digital culture has made everything better, and digital culture has ruined everything.
On the one hand I have been exposed to more art, thought, music and information than I can process. My life is continually enriched by my computer and the internet. It’s a bottomless toolbox, complete with tutorials on each and every tool. Anyone can use it and one sits on your desk/lap right now. It’s the most powerful tool ever placed in our hands and we are still figuring out how to use it, like cavemen with a new spear. We have not even begun to realize it’s potential in shaping our futures.
We also have an unlimited distribution model in the internet. No longer are we dependant on suits in corner offices to determine what is fit to print or suitable for public consumption. Screw those guys. Those guys have had it good long enough! We don’t have to wait for their approval anymore. If your book really needs to be read, you can put it out there with a few clicks. The same with your DJ mix, short film, photo or painting.
But on the other hand, financial success has almost always been predicated on some kind of asymmetry; whether it be information, access to technology or distribution channels. How then is the creative class to flourish when we are all rock stars, writers, photographers, directors and online personalities?
“The Industry Is Dead.”
Last month I was lucky enough to have heard of a semi-secret screening of PressPausePlay, and it has been eating my brain ever since. It really strikes a great balance with soul-crushing quotes from the eloquently pessimistic Andrew Keen and inspiring optimism from Seth Godin. Being pulled in two directions at once for over an hour left me feeling stunned by the end of the film.
Is it true that real talent will be drowned in a sea of mediocrity? Or will it rise up and shine brighter than the rest? Is any internet phenomenon “nothing more than a bunch of bloggers jerking off all over each other?” Yes and no to all of the above.