There is a sweet sort of irony in the fact that Darwin was not the pioneering mind of evolutionary theory, but rather its adopter, refiner, and perhaps perfecter. Although he undoubtedly contributed a great deal to the theory (probably more than his predecessors) it is important to note that like Darwin's creatures of the Galapogos, great ideas are rarely born, but developed, often collaboratively.
The source of ideas is especially important today because in an increasingly technological world, they are often come and gone before we are able to slow down and realize what is happening. In his lecture "The Rise of the Amateur Professional"
Charles Leadbetter talks about how cultural innovation is becoming increasingly collaborative, evolving through user modification and testing. What is amazing is that in many fields, R&D labratories may not be able to keep up, as open-sourced culture will not only be designed by consumers for consumers, but also will be able to be tested for free, running hundreds, thousands, or even millions of trials simultaneously.
Although Leadbetter uses examples like the invention of the mountain bike to demonstrate his point, there are greater examples happening right now. The existence of sites like YouTube (outside of simply posting existing material) say to established media "We don't need you!", offering a programming channel for everything from comedy to cooking shows to comentary on the politicians we love to hate. All open source. All amateur. All the time.
Time Magazine's 2006 Person of the Year article (it was you, congratulations!!) says,
"America loves its solitary geniuses—its Einsteins, its Edisons, its Jobses—but those lonely dreamers may have to learn to play with others. Car companies are running open design contests. Reuters is carrying blog postings alongside its regular news feed. Microsoft is working overtime to fend off user-created Linux. We're looking at an explosion of productivity and innovation, and it's just getting started, as millions of minds that would otherwise have drowned in obscurity get backhauled into the global intellectual economy."
Learning from the music industry's major failure to embrace user control of media and culture, many companies have simply given up trying to stay ahead, and are simply turning to the users to tell them exactly what they want, when, and how much of it to give. Countless artists have been signed because of large followings on Myspace (see: Fall Out Boy) or YouTube, or the Idol shows, the latter of which do it in real time. It seems that those that have adapted to the new sources of culture have survived, and those that have dragged their feet have fallen behind.
Lastly, and on a slightly more serious note, in this new collaborative culture machine, it is extremely important that we take our responsibility seriously as users. When we buy or use products or services, we give it our personal stamp of approval, and in avoiding them, we can demonstrate our disapproval. We have a tremendous amount of power as individuals today to change our own world, and it starts with what we do, what we buy, what we wear, and what we eat. I am not asking you to boycott anything, but simply to be aware, be informed, know your options, and if you desire change, always know that what you do makes a difference.
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