An article from the October edition of FastCompany.com talks about the "Amateur Revolution" taking place. It discusses everything from Rap music, to Linux to astronomy to The Sims all being driven by Pro-Ams, or professional amateurs.
Rap started on the street, as an alternative to the music fare of the big labels. Linux is "open source" programming, the true definition of Pro-Am. The Sims game would have been a modest hit by itself, but became the best selling game of all time because it opened up opportunities for Pro-Ams, or KEY INFLUENCERS to participate and create content that other Sims players could share.
My thought? "Open Source" is the output of Pro-Ams.
The article is a good one. Read the online version of the article here.
Journalism is going through the exact same transformation right now. I was surprised that the article's author, Istvan Banyai, didn't mention it, especially since it is impacting his livelihood - journalism.
Blogs are written by the same type of folks featured in this article - Pro-Ams. These amateurs are passionate and committed, sometimes more so than their full professional counterparts.
Taking this whole theory one step further, what is the economical impact of it all? What if everything in the "creative arts" (journalism, computing, etc.) and science becomes infiltrated by Pro-Ams? Will this commoditize everything? Pro-Ams are usually not compensated for their efforts. What will this do to those who make a living in these areas? Will it drive them to increase the quality of their product? Or will it cause resentment and frustration? Interesting thought.
-aB
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