Friday, October 06, 2006
Open Standards, the Arts, and Participation
One of the beautiful aspects of many of the Web 2.0 services is the open standards that are available for users. APIs are available on Revver and Flickr to name two. When you are dealing with a system with an API it allows you to create new applications by combining other services. On your own site, you can install systems that draw content from any of these services. You can combine collections from Revver, YouTube, Flickr, and so forth to create new applications. Many of these services provide the mechanism for outputting RSS feeds allowing people to subscribe to your content. This content is predominantly the written word, video, images—ways of creating and describing art. Every person making use of these services is a defacto arts participant. They create work and share it. In some cases they also make money from that content. You can collaborate with other artists.
What does this all mean? We have a new participatory model unlike any other that has ever existed. New forms of expression are evolving and ANYBODY with a few tools can be part of it.
Can the arts community embrace and leverage what could become a brand new paradigm? Can the arts community engage this new community in a meaningful way to be relevant? I believe we can but it will mean taking risks.
What does this all mean? We have a new participatory model unlike any other that has ever existed. New forms of expression are evolving and ANYBODY with a few tools can be part of it.
Can the arts community embrace and leverage what could become a brand new paradigm? Can the arts community engage this new community in a meaningful way to be relevant? I believe we can but it will mean taking risks.
