Writer, Agilist, Elder Geek
As I noted in my last column on the subject, the Production Revolution (the ability technology gives us to make many media and technical products) isn't going to make everyone an instant author/artist/whatever. There were multiple limits, and the first limit I noted was some people don't have time time.
So let me continue, depressingly, on another factor that's going to keep the talented from realizing their goals. Technical Skill.
Self-publishing. Webcomics. Game design tools. Art programs.
Give yourself an hour and you can find the tools to let most anyone with some skill be a media creator. You can make books, games, etc. that you could never dream of years ago, and get them to a waiting audience.
Now of course you know I've been a bit cynical that this explosion of tools will also mean a creative renaissance, a kind of "Production Revolution" of media. My own research, my own experience, has been very informative, so let me put it straight:
All these tools may mean that there's a chance for more people to get out their dream comic/video/game/book/movie and so on. But there are still many barriers to their chances to do this. These are not barriers of distribution or technology (which are changing). These are personal barriers.
(I'm still thinking about DLC and mobile content as of late. Blame my new Android.)
I sort through the DLC on my console and am amazed at what's there (and at times appalled, but mostly amazed). I look through the online store on my smartphone and am overwhelmed with choices. When it comes to books the content available to me, especially via eBooks is stunning.
It seems that, media, software, and gamewise we're in a kind of explosion of creativity and productivity. There's just a huge amount of stuff everywhere – often good stuff – that we can download, play, read, or listen too.