Insta-music: Sharing talent through social media.
I am a music lover and a musician myself, so it should be no surprise when I say that I enjoy scrolling my Instagram feed listening to the new hidden talent that adorns my screen. Listening how these guys play amazingly with their instrument or the way they play a certain song fascinates me and opens my imagination as to how I can use those same techniques myself.
It would seem that today anyone can become a very well recognized musician and that transition from average Joe to artist is becoming easier thanks to the new methods of getting there. No longer are people forced to have to play endlessly hoping that their talent be recognized by someone famous. Now it’s easy to just record yourself (ideally for less than 60 seconds) and play anything you feel comfortable with. I personally don’t see it as a negative since many of people that use Instagram, YouTube and whatever is out there seem to use these mediums as a way to share their talent with the world. This new medium has helped to them to become even better as musicians or it has helped them to network with bigger names in the music industry.
This situation may not be exactly identical as the situation that Dominic Boyer was studying in his research in The Life Informatic, but there is one piece of information that both situation have in common, and that is that as technology is becoming more advanced, the methods in which the people use the mediums will also evolve. In the book, the reader could learn how journalist had to change their methods and became (unfortunately) technologically dependent.
Unlike journalist, many up and coming musicians can thank these new platforms of communication because they are enjoying more performances and in some occasions that has led to sponsors chasing after them.
With every like and heart shape emoji that we leave in the comments, we are giving the person feedback as to what we think about their abilities, but the same can’t really be said about the journalist and the struggles that they face. Perhaps journalist have to evolve the way in which they deliver the news because in today’s day and age, being informed is always in demand.