The Age of Creativity

Hugh MacLeod argues that we are entering a new age of creativity, demanding more from both ourselves and our work:

We are turning off the TV. We are using the internet, reading books, attending museums, buying paint, taking night classes and purchasing art in unprecedented numbers. We suddenly feel alive and excited about life in a way that would have seemed crazy a generation ago.

We are learning to sing.

We are starting to write in record number. We have discovered blogs. 40,000 of us start new ones every day. Will it make money? Who cares? This isn't about money; this is about getting our thoughts together.

Our thoughts are coming together because we are no longer asleep. We're not even sleepy.

I've thought about this as well, and it does seem we're indeed becoming more creative... mainly because it's easier than ever to be creative and share our creations with others. Creative people have all kinds of cheap, easy-to-use tools to express themselves. Writers have blogs. Want to publish that novel of yours? Just convert it to a PDF and upload it to your website. Want to be a radio commentator? Start a podcast. Give that business idea of yours a shot online; it might just be the next eBay! The musically inclined can buy sound processing and editing software at Wal-Mart, produce their own music, share their professional grade MP3s and e-mail them to P. Diddy. The same goes for budding photographers and filmmakers. As well as creative types who have no precedent, such as electronic game creators.

All this, of course, has its dark side; the thugs in Iraq who upload video of themselves murdering their victims probably think they're pretty "creative" too. But hopefully, the good will outweigh the bad, and we'll continually think up new tools to help express ourselves.

Source: Innovation Weblog