Eban Crawford dot Com

I have been thinking a lot lately. I know that can sometimes lead to odd circumstances and results, but I am not going to let that dissuade me from trudging along the thought pattern highway.

The topic of these thoughts has been social media. More to the point, the “media” part of social media. The more I think on this topic the more I come to realize that this “media”  in social media has little to do with media. It is mostly about sharing.

Don’t get me wrong, sharing is not a bad thing, but it definitely is not “media.” Media is about creation, artistry, and talent. Now, some sharing is part of media, but somewhere talent, creation, and vision has to come to the fore.

For every person that creates on the web, thousands then come along and share as part of the social media landscape. Sharing this way is social, but is it media? Well, that depends on how you share. Look at the news broadcasts on TV or the radio, or the web. Yes, these are programs based on other people’s stories, but the production of the broadcast itself needs talent and vision. Think about radio or web DJ’s, they don’t make the music on their programs, but the presentation of the program needs talent and creativity.   It is media. Taking another person’s story and hitting a share button or making a quick  response via Twitter or Facebook? Not so much.

There is nothing wrong with the social side of things. The point I am trying to make is we can do so much more.

We can create a blog post, a podcast, a video. We can write and produce a live action series or an animated gem. We can create digital art or take some wonderful photographs. We can take our offline creative endeavors and showcase them on the web.  We can produce our own novel or how-to guide and publish it through multiple channels. We can interview interesting people and publish the result. Write a song, record it, and release it.

That is media. That is creation. It does not have to be totally new. Creating derivative media is still fulfilling the act of creation. It can be something observational or build on a previously explored theme. It can be in the model of a newscast. The object is not what is created, it is that something was actually created. Something with your personal stamp on it.

So, why don’t we all get in on the “media” side in addition to the just the social side? The barrier of entry is at an all time low and is lowered more everyday. To some, mostly the snobbish and insecure, that is a bad thing. To me it is something to rejoice. Professional is no longer the insurmountable beast it used to be, and that is a good thing. Many media projects that are professional suck, but many don’t. Many amateur projects suck as well, but again, many don’t. My thing is I want more projects to come to light so we can get to the gems.

Also, it does not matter if  the many think something sucks. It only matters that your audience likes what you do. It may be just an audience of one. It does not matter. CREATE!

In my time on the internet, I have never been able to stop creating. From selling my art online, to blogging, to podcasting, to animation, to whatever is next, I have always had to create. My hope is that you will go this route as well.

So what say you? Let’s put more media into social media. Let’s all create together. Seriously.

I am starting to explore this topic more now. I really want to get people motivated about creation. I guess I have heard one to many “great” ideas from friends and others that never see the light of day. I really wish I could see where those projects would have, and could have gone. I have one good friend that just wrote a terrific first novel that I helped to launch and am about to do some post editing on. (Not the story, which is very well done and engaging, just some typos, don’t let that keep you from trying out this excellent book!) I have another good friend that writes terrific stories as well, but I don’t know if we will ever see his stories in the digital space or in print. This makes me sad. The same argument stands in any other form of media. I am so eager to see what everyone out there is capable of.

We are all media moguls now. Let’s start acting like it.

Cheers,

Eban