There's a lot of talk about the polarization of our society. [Not nearly enough.] You are either very rich or poor. The middle class is disappearing. Among the disappearing middle class are also the 97% of the highly talented creative minds who are invisible to the naked eye. [Doesn't this bring into question how a "highly talented creative mind" is defined? Honestly, via my definition the real ones are rarely "invisible".]
Have you ever gone to a local club and heard a band play and wonder how they could be so talented, yet unknown? [I've gone to a lot of clubs that have made me wonder exactly the opposite.] Makes you realize how narrow the odds of being discovered are. [I'm not sure more "discovery" is what we need?] The internet was supposed to be the magnet that would raise this undiscovered talent pool to the surface. [Okay....now that we're over the cliches....this is interesting. Of course I don't think the vast majority of internet users "supposed" it would be a magnet for such things. But we can grant that for the sake of argument/consideration perhaps.]
But so far, the internet is about enabling the "masses" to express themselves. So far that has created a lot of flotsam and jetsam. The undiscovered talent remains, well, undiscovered. [Stealth elitism rears its ugly head. It's a confusion of how people use the internet....she takes as a given in this paragraph what she supposed in the previous one. And now what she supposed has become the standard of judgment in either/or fashion. Also a confusion here about the necessity of "discovery". Undefined and ambiguous in her use of it.]
The more the internet evolves, it seems to be all about helping the mainstream publishers and production companies find advocates among the masses. [Hello? Where do you live? Estonia? This is AMERICA love it or leave it. You are just noticing this feature of living in the USA?] Specifically, I've seen statistics that more tweets and blog links connect to traditional media than "alternatives". [Again, should we be surprised? Is this news?]
There is nothing wrong with what is on the internet. Don't get me wrong. [Perhaps a tad overstated. Huge pornographic endeavors with women being raped and other forms of violence and bigotry....."there's nothing wrong with what is on the internet". But if it is innovation we seek, and I hope that's true, let's get back to what the promise of the internet was supposed to be -- to help the truly talented, creative class master their craft and help those who seek to find and encourage them participate too. [Utopian....which isn't bad. But only points in the direction of a decisions that have to be personally made....which is much harder than pontificating about society.]
Arianna Huffington is drawing attention to the disappearing "middle class" in the US in this series. [In my world, the use of "class" in creative and also more traditional socio-economic uses needs to be closely examined. Was there every a "creative class"? And if so, what did that mean in socio-economic terms? We are seeking partners to develop MusikMosh specifically to enable the both culture and commerce to flourish in the music making community. [The sheer proliferation on the net of Platforms and Venues—just the sheer number of them—is an issue. And then there's the issue of knowing about them and judging what to use or invest time in.]
How do you define the creative class ? Is it what we could call a demographic (or culture) of people that lie so low on the radar that they do not exist.Sometimes I hear it is dying and other times I hear its flourishing. I look to myself an artist that dwells lowly in sub culture (bohemian) of creative people holding on to an ideal that maybe their art will be taken seriously or at least pay the grocery bill. Either way we are people who push new ideas forward...thats what keeps our minds thriving and hopes alive.
ReplyDeleteI have been hearing about what is called "the bohemian index" another definition which probably has been examined in line with an economist’s analysis. While looking for a clearer definition I noticed this interesting interview with Professor Richard Florida author of “Who’s Your City” .He talks about how he has noticed areas that have had bohemian cultures (san fran in the 60s)and populations of creative classes who are open to experiences churn the creative economy. He mentions that these types of cultures seem to be more driven to have new experiences.Question is can you teach someone openness in having new experiences?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6LyyjzYuFU&feature=fvw
The question about teaching someone openness to new experiences? It's very specific and not general. Every situation is particular. I guess my take on all the general discussion is it's just that....talk. But I assume Florida has researched this: "He talks about how he has noticed areas that have had bohemian cultures (san fran in the 60s)and populations of creative classes who are open to experiences churn the creative economy." What I mean is you can go to San Francisco and it certainly is different (then and now). And you can notice a lot of things. Are they what Florida has noticed? I think that's why we do research? To better understand these impressions. But I think he has done this research and it's a good critical project to understand the basis of such claims I think.
ReplyDelete