Current mood:	accomplished
Entry tags:	photography, photos

So, apparently I won a prize for a photo that I submitted to a pretty random free photo competition (about shipping containers -- I wouldn't have even known about it if a stranger hadn't mentioned it in a comment on my flickr photo)

More to come later, I guess, after the winners (I was a runner-up to first-place) are announced/published and my prize (a digital camera) is shipped.

The internet has provided me with some weird free stuff, mostly due to this blog... which was not its intention or purpose at all (despite so many people trying to exploit the "blogosphere" for advertising, self-promotion, etc) But hey... I'll take what I can get!

Just more proof of what I think is the current trend: new media (such as Internet 2.0 and the affordable proliferation of media production equipment - digital cameras, video equipment, etc.) will enable more people to produce, publish, share; in short, you no longer have to have money or power to be part of mass media. Personally, coming from a background of no money or power, I think that is a fantastic thing.

Unfortunately, one side effect is that many of these people who think (or hope. or pray) that they have some talent, creativity, or skill... actually don't. So the public is stuck wading through a soupy muck of mediocrity (or worse) -- that's where the jobs of producers, editors, music labels, etc. came in handy during the Media Economy 1.0... to help sort through the absolute garbage.

But on the other hand... there ARE some great, entertaining, poignant, or intelligent people and things being created out there. Things which would have never found a market if they had to go through the BS of being approved for mass, cookie-cutter consumption ala Media Economy 1.0


So, the end result? I predict (and already starting to see this happen) that more people will get a slice of the pie. And the pie is huge, but because so many people are now players, the slices will be a lot smaller than they traditionally have been. What this means (and what the YouTard hopefuls don't realize) is that the age of being "king of the world" and reaching a status of tenure is not going to be possible. There will be far fewer bigwigs in the media world... but that's because there will be many more smallwigs and mediumwigs.

I, for one, think it's great. It's really an example of socialism/communism at its finest, and it means success will have to rely far less on money, politics, and nepotism and far more on art, insight, and true talent. In the end, that means we all (except for the few bastards who have enjoyed sitting at the top) win.