This is the new new media

I am starting this week with the required reading and video.  I also plan to read the article on web video, and to watch the Alma Whitten and Star Search videos



What I hope to gain this week is a more keen sense of awareness about:
1.  How much of the web is user-generated
2.  How quickly and profoundly this trend is changing the world we live in.

But first, for this post, I'll highlight my key takeaways from the Crowdsourcing extract.

I think a lot of the chapters takeaways are summarized quite well in the book by Daniel Pink, Drive, therefore I have attached a link to an illustrated synopsis of the book, narrated by the author...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc
 

People are motivated by Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose, so as I go through some of the points made in the reading, I will link these to the inner motivation of this generation...

Threadless: The Jakes are tapping into the inner motivation of artists, affording them autonomy (create whatever design your want), mastery (top 10 designs get made) and purpose (express their message). Though it may not pay all the bills, people get to do something they love!

iStockPhoto:  With advances in camera technology, the site plays on the inner-motivations of amateur photographers, again affording them autonomy (pick your topic), mastery (see your picture used), and purpose (express their message). Again, though it may not pay all the bills, people get to do something they love!  iStock is a great example of the theory of creative destruction, but at least in this case, Getty images figured it out, and bought the new industry.  Blockbuster did not realize until to late that the netflix model was taking off, and now netflix has to move to streaming videos, or it also takes the risks of being creatively destructed by the like of hulu...The pace is simply incredible...

P&G is also turning to the masses and engaging them to help solve their problems, as the article describes;

Crowdsourcing is everywhere: CNN has iReporters, YouTube its amateur videographers, etc...


I think the author is right, in that the internet gives us:
1. Opportunities to help
2. Opportunities to pursue interests
3. Opportunities to create/participate in communities

Is the internet replacing education as the great equalizer?