10 points to Gryffindor house for the person who tells me what song the subject refers to...
When we were kids, there were certain jobs and activities that were set aside only for professionals; Disc Jockey, Movie Maker, Recording Musician, Business Owner, etc... Could we ever become one of these? Sure, with alot of money, alot of work, and alot of education.
But look now. The line between amateur and professional has been blurred so much thanks to technology. Photography equipment is now so advanced; the average 17 year old has equipment in his pocket that blows the pants of a pro from the 80s. We can take photos, edit them, and print them in our own home.
Video equipment is now advanced and cheap enough that anyone can pretty much make a decent movie with equipment bought at Best Buy. Even more, this person can edit the movie and add special effects on a computer that costs under $1,000.
We can now be a DJ thanks to iTunes and our iPod, we can record music with software most producers would only dream of in the 80s. More and more people work out of the home thanks to paypal, ebay, and google ads.
Examples go on for miles, so what is a true professionalism and what makes an amateur not a pro? It is no longer lack of technology, access, or money. Anyway, thought this was a neat observation... I mean heck, 10 years ago, who would have thought that we would all have a website like this? Everyone from Microsoft to the kid down the street has a website...
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6 comments:
Shine on You Crazy Diamond...
I think spell check might be the defining line, Jamison...
I see what you mean, though. There are those out there who have that "entrepeneurial spirit" and can use what they have to go far.
But, there are still defining lines between pro and ameteur. The equipment movie makers, radio stations, etc. use is far more advanced and costly than what your Joe Schmoe can get on the open market.
We've been having a discussion on the WD Forums that speaks to some of these questions. Do you need a degree to be a professional writer?
The answers ranged from "absolutely" to "not really". But, statistically speaking, if you look at how many published authors have a degree of some type, approximately 97% do! I think this holds true for most of the professional world, too.
Can you make it and do well outside of these "professional" lines? Yes. How often does it happen? RARELY.
man josh, do you check the blog like every 5 minutes? I guess I do too...
i forgot to spell check, editing it now
LOL...yeah, I do.
Good post, btw!
I think it depends on how you are defining your terms. Yes the "professionals" use much better equipment but don't always make the better product. Spielberg movies always look fantastic, but sometimes they're crap. Where the guy down the street may not have the production value, but can create a better film.
The great thing about all of this technology is the ability of people who before wouldn't have a chance of making these things getting to do them. The bad thing is that far too talentless people are able to do the same.
Out of curiosity, Sip, where did you get the 97% stat?
Blogging, podcasts, digital photography/films are having a real effect on the pros too. blogging really helped shape the last presidential election.
The 97% ish figure (I just remember it was in the high 90s) came out of some research Writer's Digest cited.
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