Gordon Knox is the Director of Global Initiatives at the Stanford Humanities Lab where he "identifies, develops and implements international projects that combine the understandings and techniques of the humanities and the sciences and engage them in on-the-ground efforts to effect social change."
In this panel discussion at Northern California Grantmakers, February 14, 2008, Knox discusses the change in the dynamic between the amateur and professional and discusses the parallels between Darwin and Web 2.0. Before viewing this piece, it would be helpful to familiarize yourself with the following concepts and terms: amateur, professional, web2.0, Charles Darwin, and sociocultural evolution.
After watching this piece, consider how the professional designer can operate in the arena of web2.0 amateur community. Think critically and respond through the comments section. Participation is mandatory. We will discuss this in class on Thursday.
21 comments:
this was a very good lecture in the example that were given. My look on it is as such, when coming up with a new idea, brain storming is involved, some out side the box thinking is to be applied. As in the lecture Mr Knox refers to the two groups, the Professionals and the Amateurs. the Pros are know to be experts in the field, how ever step out side there field and there are lost. the Armature is know as some one who Loves what they are doing, thus there is room for IMPROVISATION and out side the box thinking. if a professional designer were to operate in a arena of WEB2.0 amateur community, they would be eaten alive. The web is to big and has to many nooks and cranny's, no one can be a professional in that area. they do not think out side the box or work well with others. i think that in order to succeed in web 2.0 you have to be with a group of else everything will not run smoothly
I'm really exhausted so this might not make any sense. I thought the Gordon Knox had some interesting things to say. I didn't find the bit about amateurs and professionals very eye-opening but it is definitely true and worth understanding. The things he said about how an amateur has a more liberated mind and how a professional acts superior and is more constrained to a set of ideas may be true but I feel as a professional in something such as digital art you need creativity to assure a job. Digital artists as well as most other professionals are forced to be competitive and when you discover something that can separate you from the competition you want to keep it to yourself to ensure that you will succeed. This may not help the community but in a capitalist society until you have established yourself as an artist it seems like you are almost forced to do things a certain way.
I enjoyed the things he discussed about web 2.0 and how we can work together and help each other to achieve things that don't just benefit us but the world as a whole. The facts about Brazil were also interesting. It's pretty cool what they have done with technology I think thinking like that may help push us into the next era. I do wish I knew a little more about their methods in going to a village and changing it. I'm not sure if it is truly what the people wanted and not just a social experiment that was forced on a group of people who enjoy their isolation and traditional ways.
I think the professional designer can benefit from working in an amateur community. The dialogue between amateurs can advance ideas through improvisation. The interaction between people globally can give professionals opportunities to work with amateurs. Professionals can help amateurs with specific aspects of work, reaching the people who can use them. For instance, the baskets sold by an Indian community directly to the public may be advanced more quickly with the work of a professional designer, perhaps targeting a demographic that could bring in the best price for the baskets.
I'm relieved to hear the progress web 2.0 has made through the project in Brazil and the collective knowledge of amateurs. Uploading and downloading are necessary for communication. Improvisation is a valid method of learning and discovering new ideas and solutions. I have dreamed of the web opening international markets to spur the economy. Some areas are saturated with goods that are in demand in other places.
Interacting not only with large cities, but also with remote communities globally can provide real solutions. Amateur's "freedom to fail" can open communication lines to provide ideas from outside the box. This limitless exchange of ideas through improvisation can allow for new solutions to issues we face today.
I find the progress of web 2.0 to be fantastic. Education and sustainable economies doesn't seem to far out of reach. Professionals keep their knowledge exclusive, and can continuously learn from amateurs actively exchanging information. Amateurs can learn from professionals and are part of the process of advancing ideas in a global community.
Times are changing and media is constantly getting better. Now lets stretch it into a 20 minute lecture. The lecture was informative and it made some very good points. I think the mention of Kareoke was helpful, as it compared amateurs singing in a friendly environment to Web 2.0 where amateurs can create blogs and join online communities and converse in a friendly atmosphere. He also mentioned Brazil jumping straight from the 19th century to the 21st, and not having to learn everything we did in the 20th century. Overall, I feel Gordon Knox made some great points and was accurate with his comparison between amateurs and professionals, but I think the lecture was slightly long and could have been more direct and to the point. I was quickly frustrated when the first 7 or so minutes was spent defining amateurs and improvisors. If he was given a 12 minute time slot to say what he just said, I believe the lecture would have been more to-the-point, and more interesting and easy to follow along.
Knox suggests we are witnessing a paradigm shift in social architecture: from where information was created and controlled by the few (professionals) to where information is freely exchanged and updated – via the Web – by the many (amateurs.) The professional designer can operate in a Web2.0 world only by actively engaging amateur community participation – because, so-called amateurs, have a clearer sense of what’s relevant to them.
According to Knox, the professional is often encumbered by sets of presumptions which advance their own specific and narrow field of interests. Whereas the amateur – free from the professional’s “hegemony of knowledge” – can freely improvise, thus creating a model for new ways of understanding. Much the way Charles Darwin developed the theory of evolution by thinking outside-of-the-box.
Knox anticipates a future of expanded discourse between professionals and amateurs resulting in an unexpected synergy benefitting both groups.
I found the lecture to be a little dry and dull, the first time through I feel asleep 4 minutes in.
After a cup or two of strong coffee, I watched it again and I thought his explanation on the difference between amateurs and professionals was kind of enlightening. Through those I thought of my ideal goal to become a professional in my field and who they think inside the box as well as know very little out of there field. I like this one aspect he gave on amateurs: "a freedom of failing", which professionals can't do and that can be nerve racking.
I found his example of Web 2.0 and hows it like karaoke kind of funny, and it also helped explain it a little better which was nice. He's talk on the project being done in Brazil was very interesting, how they find these "cultural hot spots" and provide funding for them and some they were digitalized. The digitalized part was great, were they get recycle computer and reassemble then reprogram them and then download open source software. They hand out video and microphone equipment then taught a few kids how to upload, "they taught them how to upload before they learn how to download".
As for how the professional designer can operate in the arena of web2.0 amateur community, I think that professional can expand themselves and this kind of community if they can work in it. They can get some out of the box ideas, things they may not of considered or know from the amateurs and improve there overall abilities, At least thats what I got from his lecture.
I thought the lecture made some good points. I didn't like how he had to define every last term after he brought it into the subject. I felt it a little distracting from the topic. I like the examples that he gave regarding amateurs and how they are compared to "hackers" today and how they work with professionals to be successful. I believe it is good to have a combination of experts and amateurs in a work environment. The experts can teach the amateurs and groom them to become future experts. As stated in the lecture regarding the karaoke example, most amateurs have the mindset of contributing without a fear of failure which is a great plus. I believe experts can really feed off of that and build to their success.
Admittedly, this comment is a little bit of a rant...
Web 2.0 is all about the user. It's about turning creativity and exploration into something usable and interesting. And, it's the idea of making EVERYONE an amateur to web design, graphic design, videography, mixing music, etc. For a professional designer in ANY of those fields to succeed, the out of the box thinking that Graham Knox mentions is a NECESSITY.
Now, that's not to say that there's not a place for what a professional knows, but they have to be willing to keep pushing the envelope. Personal development, willingness to try new things, and work on projects that are "interesting" instead of "easy," keep a professional passionate and "amateur"ish. Amateur in the interested, kind of way. Plus, they get to take all the skills they're good at, and broaden their range of professionalism.
So the professional can design things that leave a website visitor to explore something, and learn something new, to put together their own design pieces (the way AJAX dynamically changes a page without the professional having to write separate pages for multiple pieces of information from the page before).
Being an improvisational amateur pairs the idea of passion pushing knowledge so even the professional can be an "amateur" to new things. They can continue to push the envelope and learn new skills and teach new skills, and produce new things that they are passionate about. I think Charlotte makes a good point about the professional pairing with the amateur to help reach a better target audience. But I think what she's missing is the idea of the professional providing resources to the amateur, teaching them, whether through tutorials or through one-on-one face-to-face help. Not only will that help the professional reinforce their own skills, but it'll create MORE professionals that have an amateur, improvisational love for design.
There's a reason why Wikipedia has so much draw, but still requires citations to articles. We all love to think we know everything, but the reality is, there are some things amateurs just don't know. And, while it's amazing to be able to share information, biased or unbiased, based in truth or complete fiction, there is still a place for the professional to help guide the public to the realities, to cite the facts. And, blogging is great, but I think hearing a blog from a professional can sometimes be MORE inspiring to an amateur than reading another amateur's blog.
What I loved most was Brazil's "so sue me" attitude. If more professionals in the design world would take that risk, amateurs would be their peers instead of just their competition. Professionals seem to be too afraid to share what they know, just like Matt (Drift Productions) said, and so no one can value from their expertise. The idea of recycling knowledge, like computers with new graphic design, is GENIUS. To me, the idea of a resource of shared knowledge, THAT's the thing that will get us back to the strength of curiosity and over "the hump of greed and power."
A professional must keep an open mind and try to think like an amateur does and not always think within the old rules. They must open their minds and come up with new innovative ideas like the amateur who never had to follow those rules. Innovation comes from thinking outside the box and not being locked inside it. You must learn to think outside the old rules and wringht new rules. Many of the great advances in thinks in world history game from grass roots armatures movements.
The lecture was interesting but a bit dull in the beginning. He said um and ahh way to many times and I think it was a bit long too. An amateur is defined as a person who thinks outside the box. An amateur is understanding when they fail where a professional does not. They are not shy that their work is not at par with a professional. A professional can succeed in their work since they know more on a certain topic than a amateur. In web 2.0 everything is pretty much user created and every user has an open mind where as a professional knows the rules where as a amateur will break them. professionals has to have a more open mind to survive in a web 2.0 world. I think professionals should help the amateurs out since they understand the area better. While many amateurs can create anything and upload it to the web 2.0 their work will look amateurish, they will need a professional to teach them the tricks to make their work looks more professional. many web 2.0 site are created by professionals and they let the amateur add content to the site like wikipedia.org but at the same time they set a bunch of rules for the amateurs to follow like citing their sources. I think a professional can survive in a web 2.0 world but in order to do that they have to have a more open mind in the design area.
I agree with seemingly everyone else, amateurs are necessary to keep everything 'fresh'. I think that allowing amateurs and professionals to pool their resources and work will strengthen the design process. Professionals need that 'out-of-box' thinking to keep the design industry new and exciting. However I am having trouble with web 2.0. It seems to me that 'web 2.0' is just some buzz word that people keep throwing out. If you stop and think about it hasn't web 2.0 always been here? The definition of web 2.0 (as I understnad it) is the proliferation of interconnectivity; which to me has always been available with the internet. I don't really get the big deal about it, because to me it was always here. People just never took advantage of it.
I thought Mr. Knox gave an excellent description of the role of the amateur and the professional and the distinction between the two. As amateurs, by definition, we do what we do because of our love and passion for it. Fo me that is really my motivation for doing anything in my life. And as an amateur we really have a freedom that we will not get in the professional world. Collaboration, feedback and a freedom from failure. His analogy to the Karaoke singer is spot on. Even though it's not perfect we can still be entertained and engaged by the singer. And in the audience is a group of like minded people who will support and encourage. As a professional things change because when someone is paying you to do a job there is no freedom of failure, there are time constraints and boundries put up by the client or employer. The have created walls in order to extend the status quo. Web2.0 is a term I've only heard about from this class but I'm now intrigued by it's possibilities. I totally realize that I've chosen this profession not to get rich but for the love and passion I have for the art form. To be paid for doing the things you love is the greatest gift you can have.
I enjoyed this presentation very much. I thought the speaker gave a humorous and poignant karaoke analogy to support his point. I was also very interested to hear about the work being done in Brazil. That work is very similar, in a much smaller sense, to what I am learning through this class which is to become an active participant in regards to the internet and not just a passive observer. I think a professional could use the amateur community on the web to stay abreast of trends,and exchange ideas with, as Knox said, a community which does not possess a fear of failure.
This lecture took me a little while to get used to listening to. However, I do feel that he gave an excellent speech on relating amateurs and professionals. Amateurs are definitely able to keep bringing in new concepts of learning new programs, and even teaching the professionals. Alot of professionals stick to what they already know, meanwhile they don't go out and learn the new things, unless it is mandatory to learn it, by wherever they work. But with the new era of "amateurs" they enable the professionals to seek information and learn new things within the web 2.0 era.
This presentation has changed my idea of the word "amateur", Usually I thought of this word as something negative, that refers to someone lacking experience but as he explained many pioneers who came up with new ideas or inventions were amateurs doing things just out of compassion instead of to be a part of some existing community. Listening to this really makes me realize what a valuable and powerful tool the internet can be if it is used in the right hands.
I think that Gordon gave an enlightening presentation on are society. I agree with his point that amateurs are not afraid to think outside the box because they are doing what they love and don't have a one way thinking process about their area of interest. I also loved the example about the karaoke, with people having enjoyment watching one another sing a song, because none of them are an expert and they are all there for the purpose of having fun. Expertise tend to believe that they have found best way to a achieve a goal and have have no desire to come up with alternative methods.
What I acquired from this was that not just designers, but people of common mindset as well, need to be more flexible and open to change, more dynamic, like the new environment of the internet and communications systems in which we inhabit and work in. No one does this better than those who possess an amateur mindset. I agree on the role and importance of improvisation, trial and error, it takes the right and wrong structure of web and binary to something more relevant to an artform, open to interpretation. His reference to having ideas outside the box, my take on this was the box being the corporate rat race, and how it restricts amateur thought process. He contrasted the professional and amateur positions by the feedback within the communities of both, money, and passion or paycheck. It's a very original speech.
I have to say, I love that Gordon Knox first brings the word "amateur" back to its original context. Everyone associates amateur with mediocre and professional with refine. But saying that professionals can be amateurs if they love what they do is actually quite hopeful. I hope to one day get paid for doing things I love.
I like the way Knox outlined first that the group of armatures is much wider and much more open minded because they're not trained to have one mind set. They tend to be more open to off the wall ideas because they don't have to guard their professional title.
As for what Knox goes into, I agree that amateurs are the future in ideas. We rely on technology so much to do our work, when really technology should be relying on our ideas. Anyone who sees things as just work, stops what they're doing when they stop getting paid. But those who love something, think about it in their free time, noodle over it when they're waiting in line, and dream about it. Of course new ideas are going to come out of these "armatures", such as Darwin. I like the comparison because Darwin was not a 9 to 5 scientist. Yes, he contributed so much to our understanding of evolution. But that was because he thought about it all the time. Eventually, if you think long enough, something will come out.
As for what they are doing in Brazil; Brilliant! Giving technology like the internet to those who maybe can't even read a language outside their tribe. It sounds absurd, because we think of using the internet as being used to pay bills, go on ebay, facebook, etc. These people have no need for electronic bill paying. So they're using it for their own advantage. They make baskets, for example. Everybody needs baskets. But the neighboring people probably have enough baskets because they keep buying. So the basket makers can expand their business to groups farther than they ever could have reached. Brilliant.
I enjoyed this presentation, but i have to admit that in the beginning it was a bit dull, like Omar said. Most professionals don't have the freedom of trying new things and be more creative because of the constraints that their clients or employers put to them. On the other hand amateurs have all the freedom to be creative and come up with new ideas. I believe that professionals should try to get some more freedom from their work and associate with amateurs, so that both of them to learn from each other. This would be a very good combination!
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