The nature of this new world of self-publishing, however, is that while there *is* a natural "attention" hierarchy that is naturally reinforcing, it is virtually frictionless to get started, as barriers around cost and ease of use are virtually nil. Poeple who have something genuinely interesting to say, or genuinely new or worthwhile to report in all of its relativistic wonder *can* get heard.
Whether its the whistleblower who has to go on YouTube to make his point about Navy spending indiscretions, or podcasters getting "scouted" into mainstream media thanks to their self-directed efforts, or musicians eschewing traditional channels of distribution, yet still succeeding and selling records, successful examples of the relatively egalitarian nature of new media abound. |