Wednesday, July 04, 2012
The Internet vs. the NEA
Reason.com: Has there ever been a better time to be a cobbler in Berlin with a dream to manufacture shoes with the message “Ich bin Atheist” emblazoned on their soles? Or a group of environmentally minded designers and technologists who’d like to establish a community-based air-quality sensing network? Or a sculptor who creates giant interactive signs aimed at encouraging people to contemplate the impact of capitalism on their lives?
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Kickstarter is just one example of how the internet can be used to make some amazing things happen. Like Etsy, it's a great way for artists who have good ideas to continue, or even get started with, their work, especially in an economy that isn't exactly accomodating to new artists. However, one issue that the article briefly mentions is that if one site can raise that much money, shouldn't we be working towards a similar site that raises money for more (let's face it) useful things? Education and infrastructure are brought up, not to mention things like hunger, but the problem there is the likelihood of those causes being chosen over "fun, sexy, commoditizable projects" -- which is, to be honest, a rather disappointing fact of life. Luckily there are a few sites like Kiva.org (it lets consumers lend money to businesspeople in the developing world), but maybe we really should be trying to figure out what else we can do with the formidible power of the internet.
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