Jeff Howe’s article reinstated an important fact that we know already about the Internet: the platform provides an endless amount of opportunities for future and professional success. This success, based on your craft and level of expertise is what separates you from others in this particularly competitive, rising industry.
The first point that really stuck with me about Howe’s piece was that anyone, absolutely anyone can be a photographer or videographers based on how low the costs are today. With prices as little as $1,000 for quality video equipment, it’s encouraging others who may have previously been amateurs to go out and pursue a hobby that they’ve always wanted to, on a professional level. It’s weird to think that anyone could just pick up a camera and become a photographer. Similarly, I often hear people say “everyone’s a journalist” and phrases alike because of the way the Internet has allowed people to share messages and more frequently communicate.
Photo courtesy of Lisa Padilla
The idea that anyone can become a photographer, as brought up in the section about iStockPhoto in Howe’s piece, in a way makes me feel like new technology takes away from those that have spent so long mastering their crafts. For example, Twitter and other social media platforms have hugely contributed to the idea that anyone can become a journalist. The broader argument of professional journalism versus citizen journalism examines the way in which untrained individuals feel that they are delivering information and equivalent in accountability to those that have made a career in the field. More specifically, in the case of breaking news situations, these people are also the first to tweet and Instagram material as if they’re on the scene themselves like a journalist. This idea is particularly interesting through the lens of the Boston Marathon Bombing or even the Ferguson Missouri shooting. Anyone and everyone were picking up their phones to do what they considered “reporting”.
Another line that really stuck with me was, “The labor isn’t always free, but it costs a lot less than paying traditional employees. It’s not outsourcing; it’s crowdsourcing.” The idea that you can crowdsource goods and services are something we would’ve never deemed acceptable ten years ago. An interesting website that I’ve come across lately where people literally sell their services for $5 or less is Fiverr. Users on Fiverr will do almost anything for five dollars: from designing a personal logo to editing your five-page paper. I am constantly amazed by how the Internet has become a catalyst for personal success.
Other sites like Mechanical Turk have helped create opportunity for those also seeking employment. In Howe’s article, he talks about iConclude, and the company’s experience finding top-notch professionals with the ability to write repair flows. Mechanical Turk gave both the companies and established professionals the opportunity to work together.
Overall, I was very pleased with the points that Howe made in his article. What really stood out to me was the idea that on the Internet anyone can be anything and crowdsourcing has largely contributed to that notion.
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The first thing that attracted me to this post was the title and how you touched upon being a photographer is an easy task to accomplish. If you own a camera, you can find different angles and areas to shoot. You do not even need expensive gear with your camera anymore, because you can even do this on your phone and buy a special lens to attach to your phone. We can capture everyday life and share them for the world to see what we see through our pictures.
After learning about crowdsourcing, I realize it is a fantastic idea. You can get ideas from those who are “regular” real world people without having to go through hoops to get an answer. Posting a poll on any social media platform can give you a vast amount of data to work with and makes things easier on the person who needs sources.
I do see your point on how crowdsourcing, for example in photography, can take away from the craft. I believe that’s why those who are trying to get into the art field are having a harder time. We can use the internet and other resources to easily do things that others spend years building up credentials for.
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I think it is evident that blogging and the internet in general provides an endless amount of opportunities for future and professional success. This is possible because everything is readily available at an efficient and cheap cost to anyone who can access the Internet. People are able to provide resources at a cheap cost where professions that have already been established is dwindling. This supports the quote “anyone can be journalists or photographers!” I think crowd sourcing is cool, yet ineffective. Honestly, when I did the in-class assignment where I had to ask and crowdsource the research paper topic I didn’t really find it effective. Not a lot of people found it interesting enough to comment on it, nor were they knowledge of the subject matter. Also, I totally agree with your video. Wikipedia is not a reliable source in my opinion because anyone can edit it. What if the person is not knowledgable, yet edits and gives false information? I feel like crowd sourcing is cool because it shows that one cares about others’ opinion and it’s something new; however, crowd sourcing should be done by knowledgable individuals. Having a filter is great so it can be credible and reliable.
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Hi Brooke!
You make some really great points about this article. While it does seem encouraging and empowering that nearly anyone can become a photographer, journalist, etc., I totally agree with you that it seems like there becomes something lost in the artistic element of the job when it becomes open to everyone. Because for me personally, I believe that being a successful journalist requires a particular kind of eye for what viewers will grab onto just as a successful photographer has an eye for what will make for an amazing photograph. I feel that not all people are meant to pursue these professions, and so the talents of those who have spent their lives trying to master photography, journalism, etc. become lost in the masses. But at the same time, I can see why crowdsourcing has become an attraction for so many people. It’s given people who normally wouldn’t have the chance to pursue a certain profession or career path the opportunity to learn more about the craft and possibly even make a career out of it. In addition, relying on internet users for answers to scientific questions and problems has benefited society overall because they have led to improvements technology and the field of science. It’s difficult to conclude whether crowdsourcing has more pros than cons, and vice versa. I think that overall it depends on whether you want to remain more traditional and value art as the mastering of a particular craft or you want to move along with the obsession of the internet/social media and makes these fields more available to a wider range of individuals.
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Hey Brooke!
Haha I really like the title of your Critical Response! Very very true. I also agree with everything you mentioned in your response. As I read the article about crowdsourcing, quotations such as, “Technological advances in everything from product design software to digital video cameras are breaking down the cost barriers that once separated amateurs from professionals.” really stood out to me because it captures the idea you covered in your post. As technology improves and becomes less expensive to make, consumers have greater access to previously-more exclusive professional equipment. It’s much more affordable nowadays to buy a high quality interchangeable lens camera, speedy laptop, and professional-grade photo retouching software. And if you like to keep things simple, you can use the lovely lens on your new iPhone 6 with the nice variety of filters available through a fast and free download of an app called Instagram. Just about anyone can produce a high quality image in modern American society.
Bloggers know best of all that crowdsourcing is absolutely essentially. If you want to attract readers, you have to give them what they want. What better way to do that than to have it come straight from them?
-Rocky
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I liked what you said at the end abput how people feel like anyone can do anything thanks to the internet and crowdsourcing. I think that is an interesting thought. It is true that as kids we were told we could be whatever we wanted to be, but now thanks to technology that really does seem to be the case. Like you said camera gear is cheaper now and anyone can find a how to video on YouTube to teach themselves how to use Photoshop. The world is getting smaller and crowdsourcing is helping. Crowdsourcing helps the small hobbist connect with the big company that wants to cut down on costs. I’ve never heard of Fiverr but it sounds interesting. It amazes me that someone would proofread a paper for $5, but I guess that is the beauty of crowdsourcing, findimg someone willing to do the necessary work for the defined payment. Thanks for providing that example, I think it does a very good job of describing what crowdsourcing is.
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I totally agree with what you’re saying here. I think it is also supported by the notion that a person can be anyone they want to be on the Internet, thanks to the anonymity and freedom of it. While the possibilities and opportunities are amazing, I also believe that it’s nearly impossible to supplement real life hard work, such as something coming from a person with years of experience in their craft and field. I think technology should be used to complement learned ability, not replace it.
Crowdsourcing is such an interesting innovation if you really think about it. It goes back to your point about personal success. People being able to reap the benefits of their own expertise, even if it’s not a full-time job or official title is kind of inspiring, in a way. Though there can be downfalls to crowdsourcing if people do not appropriately attribute and cite where the work came from, such as in the case of larger corporations.
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HI,
When i first read the title, i instantly started thinking about social media. Internet has taken a huge turn in past decade. Before internet was used for only for finding articles to get help with your questions. But now its all about sharing and connecting. Applications like snapchat, Instagram and pintrest made users take pictures everyday. And practicing makes everything perfect. If you’re gonna take pictures everyday, you too can become a photographer.
I didn’t know what crowd sourcing was until i saw your video. Thinking why it has become such a success is because, like i said, internet has evolved so sharing information is like piece of cake. Sometimes people complain about to much technology and how there is no privacy now, but when we think about it. Innovation has given so many people an opportunity for new job. Not full-time still a non-employed or teen who can’t get work experience can learn to make money on its own. Also thanks to people like Jeff Hoew who makes good use of technology we are seeing this change in people’s life style for good.
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Brooke, the first thing that stood out in the most was how easy someone could turn a passion into a hobby with photographer. I didn’t know it was co cheap to buy equipment at only $1000. Having the craft and level of expertise does help with having success throughout the Internet, but I also believe by being different or having a certain trait that not most people have also attracts readers for blogs. Hence, technology does take away from the required crafts needed to master certain areas. Even though it does suck; everyone has the same opportunities (technology wise) to get noticed and get paid. I really found Fiverr to be interesting since I never heard about it and knowing they’ll do almost any service for $5 shows how competitive companies are through their marketing scheme through the Internet. Technology and the internet has defiantly taken away certain aspects of professions like journalists, photography, news reporting, and etc. Now a day, the public believes they are smarter just because they could take out their iphones and report something. Even though sometimes it is the case, other times you need to leave it to the professionals to get certain thing’s done. And as you stated throughout your post, crowdsourcing has influenced certain parts of this.
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Hi Brooke,
The introduction of your response really stuck out to me. You raise an interesting point that although technology and especially the internet has made many people become “journalists” or “photographers” (which can be good), it is bad for those who spend their whole lives trying to be professional journalists or photographers. I never really thought of it that way. Personally, I know a few people who are self-proclaimed photographers but they really are just teenagers with high-quality cameras. I think that this is a positive thing because it gives everyone equal opportunity to be good at a certain skill or craft. Before, it was very hard to become a recognized photographer or a real journalist but now there are so many people who have developed their photography skills and even started their own website to sell their services to anyone. In addition, blogging enables someone to be their own journalist about whatever topic they want. I think that this is one of the greatest outcomes of the internet age because the possibilities are endless nowadays. In addition, the rise of crowdsourcing further contributes to the creation of equal opportunity – for anyone to do anything, become good at it and even get paid for it.
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How’s it going Brooke,
I totally agree with your overview of the reading! It’s such an interesting take on how things develop and change overtime. The fact that some quality things like a nice camera or video recorder are becoming so cheap overtime. The fact that our phones can produce such quality nowadays is pretty outstanding. It really puts it in perspective that what other services will slowly become cheaper because of crowdsourcing. That professionalism is slowly being taken over by hobbyist and newbies. There is so much potential for these things to go into other categories of buisiness etc. and it will be so interesting to see that happen. Another thing I wanted to comment on was the quote, “it’s not outsourcing; it’s crowdsourcing”. This is becoming such a real thing that people can donate or give money to ideas or concepts that enjoy. There are so many startups that happen this way and this is such a strong force that is really taking over.
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Hey Brooke!
The fact that you titled your response “Who Isn’t A Photographer Nowadays?” was very clever. Nowadays anyone can really be a photographer. All you need is a smart phone with the ability to take nice photos. We all know that 75% of people have them. With cheap applications on cell phones and a cheap lens found on Amazon there is no competing with that. People take away from the photographers in Howe’s article an have caused them to suffer and lose revenue. On a positive note it is great that things are becoming cheaper and more accessible to the general public. I like the fact that you included the site “Fiverr”. I had no idea that existed. Let me just say that I am so glad that you added that video to your post because it helped me understand crowdsourcing way better than I previously did. It was a nice little touch to end your response. Crowdsourcing is a good thing depending on the person. For most people it should be because it allows a lot to get done for a cheaper price. Overall your description of crowdsourcing was great and totally understandable.
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I like how you talked about everybody being able to become a photographer and journalist. Although special expensive equipment may allow you to enhance the image and whatnot, at the end of the day it is how the photo is taken that matters the most so really there is not too much money involved just skill. The only thing with the statement kind of gives a lack of skill vibe to it. When you say “anyone” or “Everybody” it gives the sense that (Well at least to me) that it’s extremely easy and there is not any skill involved with the activity. I think journalism and photography both take a significant amount of skill and I believe you touched upon this with your statement, “… in a way makes me feel like new technology takes away from those that have spent so long mastering their crafts.” Technology is definitely making things easier for the public to look good at doing things but I still feel that the skill gap will show because technology can only take you so far. I still believe we live in a day and age where the masters can find ways to distinguish themselves for the amateurs both in photography and journalism. That’s also a very interesting website you found haha. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a site that offers that many services but I think it’s really cool and definitely a great way to find a good service. The internet has definitely come a long way and people are finding more and more ways to benefit from it so this is wonderful in my opinion.
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I definitely agree with your view on this post. It’s interesting to see that anyone can be considered a photographer or journalist based on the more open opportunities provided in today’s society. I feel like it is almost bad. Many years ago, people worked hard to craft their skills in photography or literature; but today, we can easily pick up an iPhone to take a picture and add a filter – all within seconds. Tweets are considered journalist writing?! It’s almost crazy to hear such things, but to be honest in today’s society we move at a much faster pace to produce a product. Time efficiency is of the essence. Technology is now built to save time and produce a product; a product that may not be a skilled, but it will be a product nonetheless. Regardless of today’s technology I do believe we can all set apart the beginners from the more advance photographers and journalists. I liked the crowdsourcing video!
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Brooke, you made great points throughout your post. You are absolutely correct with the idea that with the internet every body is suddenly a photographer or a journalist. Not literally of course, but there are many ways in which the internet can help somebody with no photography experience, alter their images to be professional photography. Technology provides us with all of these ‘assistants’ that allow an amateur to almost disguise them self to appear professional. It also allows for people to create an income for themselves that they would not be able to do without the internet. Something that popped into my head when I was reading your section on amateurs becoming professional with the help of the internet, was the fact that every recipe I have done for my personal blog so far, (except for 1), has come from the internet. I did not have to go out to the store and buy a cook book written by a professional chef because all I had to do was browse the web for a couple minutes and all of the recipes I could ever want were right there. People are giving away an extraordinary amount of information that other people are trying to sell in paper form. It is almost like the internet is taking from one and giving it to another. Great points Brooke!
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