Douglas Rushkoff response to Avrom and Bubbe

Perhaps we are all future Spielbergs, Avrom. (At least *you* are, clearly.)

The difference, of course, between his situation and YouTube Nation's is that Steven Spielberg became a professional filmmaker. He was a singular case, on one side of the screen while literally billions of people were on the other. He got access to the Paramount lot, which was a very exclusive place.

With the Internet, each of us is in the Spielberg position as far as the technology and reach - which may actually mean that *none* of is in a position to leverage it. Maybe we really are in the "here comes everybody" scenario. ...

And that really does tie to our other thread: part of both the sorrow and joy over the death of the canon and legacy is the growing sense that none of what the academy says about what matters, well, matters. That it's all up for grabs - that a book, idea, or film clip is only as valuable as the crowd's interest at that moment.

Everything is either relevant, or seemingly lost. At the very least, the people and institutions that used to maintain certain kinds of ideas and values no longer enjoy their monopoly.

How do we maintain what Bubbe called our "discipline" in such an environment? What is gained, and what is lost?