With great power...
With great power...
In a simpler time, the world was split into two groups of people: those who created content and those who consumed it. We’re talking about newspapers, magazines (like the one you’re reading right now), radio, TV, movies, music, art, photography, etc. Those who created were often acknowledged as ‘professionals’ because only the creators had access to the tools required to produce content and the means to disseminate to the consumers.
Today’s world is vastly different. Everyone has become a creator-consumer hybrid thanks to advanced and increasingly affordable technology. Whether you fancy yourself a poet, scribe, artist, pundit, critic or comedian, you’re an arm’s length away from a camera, mic or keyboard. High-speed internet connectivity and social networks provide unfettered access to a global audience.
Of course, this means that the carefully controlled world of the creators has now become an open playground to both the skilled and unskilled, the honorable and the troll. Originality is being watered down and the line between truth and fiction harder to discern. Sometimes it’s all fun and games, sometimes it’s an annoyance, but recent high-profile events from #brexit to the U.S. Presidential election have shown that sometimes, consequences can have impact a global scale.
Here at HWM, we propagate the very gadgets and technologies that empower content creation. While it can be disheartening to see how easily fake content is made and misinformation accepted as truth, I believe knowledge should still be shared and progress must continue. We can only do our part to hopefully, impart some responsibility.
Here’s looking at you, 2017.
Zachary Chan.
Editor.
