I’m here for THATcamp – the Humanities and Technology camp’s Columbus “unconference.” It starts tomorrow and I’m really looking forward to it. It’s kind of odd to be here in Ohio though; I grew up in Westerville, a suburb of Columbus, and even though we moved away when I was a kid over 20 yrs ago, being here is stirring up memories.
As I said earlier, I’m here to talk about “Social Media, Creativity and Promotion.” So among other things, in preparation I’ve been reading The Cult of the Amateur by Andrew Keene. In this book Keene argues that social media and the democitization it represents is “destroying our economy, our culture and our values.” I’m trying to keep an open mind but it’s been difficult going. While I have not yet managed to finish the book I've already began to take issue with his position which claims that cultural gatekeepers are being replaced by mob rule.
The most prevelant cultural gatekeeper for the arts has historically been the gallery. While many of these are not for profit there are a large number of galleries which select work based on satisfying the art buyers market. In these situations potential profit is as important as artistic merit. I don’t intend to knock those who do, but for me making artwork has never been about salability. In fact I think it’s kind of odd to produce something that is supposed to be centered in the realm of culture but is then measured as successful by how much money it can bring. Across all creative fields there is often the issue of perceived quality being directly linked to market value. How often does this perception influence the “gatekeepers?”
Music, writing, art – all of these have depended on cultural gatekeepers in the past to merit distribution into the public realm. But social media, and web 2.0, give artists, musicians and writers the ability to create and disseminate their own works. Does this mean our culture suffers? I don’t think so. Not one bit. I personally applaud alternatives to a system of cultural peer review that can be even in part concerned with the bottom line. We should embrace any solutions which help avoid questions of bias or loss of objectivity. On the internet everyone is equal. Therefore attention can come from merit, not anticipated profit. I’m sorry Andrew Keene, I can’t agree with you.
I love that term "cultural gatekeepers" -- one of the best things about the Internet is how it has opened up doors, windows, eyes, ears, conversations, and more. The world has become our classroom and we can be exposed to so much more (sometimes more than we really want to be!) - if you want to see it or hear it or read it, chances are you can find it thanks to the self-promoting tools that are out there and the metadata bread crumbs to find them. Very cool post -- and have a great time!
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