I want to start things off by saying, “I am completely unqualified to be a critic of any kind.” I have no special training in writing aside from a college education and a creative writing course I took at a junior college. I have some degree of specialized training in the arts through practical classes in traditional media though I have absolutely no formal education in the history or theory of any particular artistic endeavor. Basically, I’d like to think I can draw better than your average Joe and I’d like to think the same of my writing.
However, in the spirit of today’s “I can be anything I want to be” internet, I am now going to assume the role of social critic.
I set this blog up to comment on what I call the Democratization of Art. At one point in time the cliche was “everyone’s a critic”. With the advent of Blogging and content producing sites galore, it seems now that this statement has been flipped on its head. Now anyone and everyone is a published writer, videographer, journalist, rock star….the list is endless.
I think the trend started really more with television than anything. The internet has always given people the ability to reach a large audience with, well, whatever it is that they do as a hobby. But it seems to me that once reality television made it big, the internet began to truly develop the outlets for everyday people to share the spotlight (or just celebrate their bizarre fetishes….)
Now we have an overload of sites where your average everyday person can submit anything from diaries to videos to photographs to written works and have it “published”. Blogging itself has become so pervasive that even national media outlets are allowing blogs to provide their news. Simply by providing a website with a few “facts” I can find my statements floating around every half hour on CNN.
What I want to explore is the ramification of this change. Are we better off because of this? Since everyone with a voice presumes to have something worthwhile to say is it a good thing that they have a platform to speak from?
I’ll be blunt to start. It is my opinion that the everyone has talent syndrome is a bit dangerous. While it is amazing that the internet has provided a voice to many that feel lost or overwhelmed in today’s avalanche of information, it does little for society as a whole. Adding to the pile of debris left behind seems not to add value but actually detract from things which are valuable.
And yep, I’m aware of the irony of this blog….
