Control vs. Empowerment

A friend recently posted a fascinating article on his facebook page - "Media Morphosis: How the internet will devour, transform, or destroy your favorite medium." He made the point that old guard media companies are dying by the wayside and he questioned: "What will take their place?"

My abbreviated response went something like this:

Time will tell, and considering the exponentially rapid pace at which our media now develops, we won't have to wait long to find out. In my opinion, the signs of change point toward more democratic, accessible, user-generated media. I loved this article and I agree with most of it. What bugged me was the frequent assertion that commercially viable media is the only media worthy of attention and capable of evolution.

"...the rhetoric is mostly of the nonproductive "But I like it!" and "It's good for society!" variety, with not enough thought given to whether these media are commercially viable." Thumbs down. I don't think those arguments of value are nonproductive. Not in the least. I'm not going to launch a tirade against capitalism, but I will say that, commercially viable or not, I vote that democratic, accessible, user-generated media will win out.


My unabridged version includes this rambling thought:

I posted previously about the global shift we're in the midst of, a shift to a more accessible, egalitarian society. Along those lines, in specifically discussing the potential demise of big-budget studio movies, the article states: "The specific, rarefied animal that is the gigantic film spectacle demands a technological reality that has ceased to exist -- just enough technology to distribute the films everywhere, but not so much technology that the audience gets to overrule your distribution decisions."

In other words, it used to be the case that a big studio controlled how and where and when and what movies you watch. Sound familiar? It used to be the case that the news was on at 5:00pm, the prime-time line up started just after dinner, and if you wanted to see that week's episode of Sitcom X, you were sitting in front of the tv at that time. Now? This could not be further from the truth.

This micro example of how we access television programs can be extrapolated into a macro discussion of power shifting in every way possible. People are taking ownership of their world, their communities, their tv viewing... Think I'm crazy or think I'm spot on, but I see our shifting media consumption as a much larger paradigm shift in our collective conscience. A shift to understanding our ecological impact. A shift to taking back control from monopolistic companies. A shift to empowering people who have been systemically disenfranchised from media in the past. Power is no longer held by the privileged few. The media venues that figure that out - the politicians who figure that out, the companies that figure that out, etc. - will be the those that we're still talking about 10 years from now.

par⋅a⋅digm | serving as a pattern

Recently a Sam Greenfield article appeared on Huffington Post: "Is That All You Have, Limbaugh?"

I don't remember the details of Limbaugh's tirade referenced in the article, and I don't actually care. What I do care about is the point Greenfield makes that the tired paradigm of fear and anger is on. its. way. out.

I've been feeling this shift coming for years now, and I am only one of millions of people who sense it. It's like we're hitting a giant reset button and changing our collective mind. Some people can instinctively hear, see, and even feel the difference between fear-based politics, fear-based advertising, fear-based motivation, a reactionary worldview...and the contrasting proactive, positive way of explaining the world. Some people cannot. Some people get defensive, some people get confused, some people get flat out angry. That's fine. If they can't make the distinction, that's fine. The shift is coming regardless.

The election of Barack Obama, particularly considering how he ran his groundbreaking community-based campaign, is one manifestation of this shift to a proactive worldview. Other manifestations include the near-failure of global capitalism, the fact that the internet is rapidly democratizing media, (more of my thoughts on media found here), people are beginning to care about how we treat our planet, and so much more. In other words - every day people, not exclusively those who have traditionally held power, are now empowered to define their own reality, make their own choices, create the world as they want it to be.

An article by Kari Henley - "Community is Our New Deal" - explains this shift. "...the winds of change are swinging away from fear and consumerism to regeneration and commonality. Our country has been asleep in a divisive rat race, and the time to cast away hedonism and embrace greater good for all is at hand. We are ready and yearning for it. Demonstrating the simplicity and power of community has been absent from our leaders for so long." (read more...) It's like taking the red pill and being ejected from the matrix. As soon as you identify the distinction between reactive and proactive worldviews, you see the chasm widening and there's no going back.

Thankfully.

Who needs porn when there are online trunk shows?

Dear Fellow Lovers of Lovely Things,

Say "hello" to vintage sari throws, Argentine wool runners, Turkish hammam towels, Mexican bedspreads, hadenga cushions, suzanis, mohair throws, cowhides, hemp linen pillows, Ethiopian blankets, arabesque tea glasses, Turkish pendant lamp, michoacán platters, Moroccan poufs, Chilean ox horn spoons...

I need a moment to compose myself.

Laura Aviva curates a series of online trunk shows selling all things exotic and delicious for your home. Each show has a new theme. Right now, for instance, the theme is object and textile.

I click and scroll and surf and lust after these treasures...waiting for the day I have $800 lying around, just waiting to be exchanged for a new bedspread.

Think Global. Map Local.

"...a participatory mapmaking platform that bridges the gap between awareness and action." Just when you thought Google Maps couldn't get any cooler, the community-minded programmers at Open Green Map created a wiki-style interface that let's you map resources relating to sustainability, nature, culture, etc. Think city parks, local businesses, non-profit and human services organizations, museums, etc.

Stuff like this really turns me on. By "stuff" I mean to say any venture related to organizing communities. There are immediate applications for Open Green Maps in my current job, but there are also implications for future plans I'm concocting. There's currently no map for Salt Lake City, let alone my hipster Sugarhouse neighborhood.

Hmmmmm...

I prefer the lights off

From the Earth Hour website:

"Earth Hour 2009 is set to switch off the globe. Already 538 cities in 75 countries, which is double the number of countries that participated in 2008, are committed. With hundreds more cities expected to sign up to switch off in the coming months, Earth Hour 2009 is setting the platform for an unprecedented global mandate for action on climate change."

There is something really peaceful about stopping, stopping it all, for a full hour. Shut off the lights, computer, television, phone...

I'm in.