sMoRTy71.com: Amateur Revolution

Amateur Revolution
FastCompany has an article on what author Charles Leadbetter calls the "amateur revolution." He includes Linux, rap music and astronomy as areas that have made great strides on the work of so-called amateurs.

While Linux sticks out from that list to me as something that wasn't the product of amateurs (it was more a product of collaboration among software engineers), I think we are also seeing an amateur revolution in areas that Leadbetter doesn't mention.

The most obvious is the effect that bloggers are having on professional journalism. Bloggers are constantly scooping and often duping the major news outlets.

And while it isn't really a revolution, I think niches like home theater PCs demonstrate the same phenomenon. You have a bunch of people who aren't getting what they want out of their consumer electronics devices, so they piece together components and make their own. Many of the developments/ideas of the HTPC enthusiasts are slowly making their way into PCs and consumer products.

In addition to the FC article, Leadbetter is releasing a paper on the Amateur Revolution in November.