Breaking Through
The Walls

Realizing the Internet's Potential--
From Politics to the Arts

 

by Robert Winter

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The vast majority of writing today comes more out of compulsion than out of any rationally based expectation of benefit.  Not only are the odds of a given piece of writing being published infinitesimally small, it’s highly unlikely that the piece will get anything more than the most cursory glance by a junior-level staffer plowing through a publisher’s “slush pile.”

A similar state of affairs prevails in other realms of creative endeavor.    To give just one example, vast numbers of capable and talented musicians are desperate for a chance to have anybody in the music industry just listen to their demo tapes.

A wall of indifference confronts people in creative fields of endeavor today.  It is qualitatively different from traditional forms of selection or rejection based on quality--a necessary and useful process from which we all ultimately benefit.    Today’s barrier keeps out the desirable and the undesirable alike.

The wall is also a defining characteristic of our era.   In the arts as everywhere else, ours is the age of the dwarfed individual straining to be heard above the clamor--and the impregnable automated voice response unit at the other end of the phone.

The wall that separates creative people from their natural audiences also degrades our political system.     Today, virtually the only people who have a chance of putting their views before the public are those who:

• *  are descended from political dynasties,
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• *  are already famous from some other area of endeavor, or
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• *  are beholden to special interests, from whom they've had to cadge enormous sums of money in order to wage an effective media campaign. 

The sad part is, things don’t have to be this way.  We already have means to handle the problem in a better way.    We just need to use them more effectively.

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	More effective use of the Internet can reduce political candidates' dependence on campaign contributions.
	Expanding the supply of  "gatekeepers"online will allow many more musicians to connect with people who enjoy their work.
	Additional online gatekeepers will enable visual artists to finally reach their natural markets.
	More effective use of online dissemination methods will transform and revitalize the written word.
	Future distribution via the Internet will foster the growth of media unlike anything we’re currently familiar with.
	Ultimately, the most important upcoming innovation in the arts is the one that will enable the others.

© COPYRIGHT 2004 ROBERT WINTER.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.