Is it reasonable to assume that the net and cheaper, more accessible digital media tools are making us more creative? More to the point, would it be a good thing if we were? Would a more creative society be a better one – more generous (nothing more generous than sticking your neck out in the cause of art), better at problem solving, more enterprising? Pass. No idea. I do know that lots of organisations are investing money in boosting the creativity of their people, though.
They think a more creative workforce will produce better profits. If this is true, isn’t it likely that an effort to make the wider population more creative might have a similar effect on the national economy? Could we effectively reduce expenditure on unemployment benefits, anti-depressants and incarceration if we gave more people the warm glow of making something, entertaining someone, expressing themselves? I wrote about the next generation of ‘personal creativity tools’ in The Guardian yesterday (I was filling in for the legendary Jack Schofield).
Steve – nice article. If you haven’t already, check out threedegrees, Hello and even Wallop.
Good post, Steve.
I was quite creative when I was a boy. Then I discovered girls.
but which begets which. is it not reasonable to assume that our creativity is driving evolution of the net and digital media tools?
did the invention of the printing press lead to us being more creative, or was it the other way around?