Before the invention printing press-communities (or tribes) would gather together in a circle and tell stories and entertain each other. The creator of the story would get instant feedback from his listeners, perhaps in stories of their own, perhaps in shouted out opinions.
With the invention of the printing press, people would read printed books and broadsheets, they could seek out the author and give their opinion, perhaps even invite him (or her) to a community gathering where he and they could address each other but the possibilities of direct feedback were limited. It was also possible now for a writer to avoid either responsibility or credit under a pen name .
With the advent of the electronic age, with radio, movies and television, several more layers of anonymity were introduced. It becomes progressively rarer for the audience of a story to even know (or care) who the author is. They may still gather in circles to see or discuss the story but now the storyteller and the audience rarely meet.
Now with the internet, social networking and shared video such as YouTube, once again we gather together in tribes, maybe not in the same physical location but we of similar natures band together, we share stories, give feedback and once again become part of each other’s stories. The main difference now is that we are spread globally but we share much of the same idea space and heart space.
What does this mean exactly? I don’t have a concrete idea. I do find it interesting tho…