Converge
Foreword by Dean Jansen (Participatory Culture Foundation)
I have long been fascinated with media, especially video, created outside of the 'professional' sphere. I'll leave the distinction between professional and non-professional purposefully vague; the core difference seems to be the motivating factors surrounding the creators' decision to produce the media. What I'm thinking of is usually non-commercial and often amateur -- and of course it is becoming increasingly common. Whether it's meant to entertain, inform, convert, or offend, this media is nearly always imbued with a wholly different spirit than its professional counterpart.
The raw energy that creates this spirit can't be pinned down easily. Again, it's the motivating factors that produce this effect, and the motivators can differ greatly from one creator to the next. Various motivations may make the energy materialize in different ways, but there is always a shared base that remains constant and vibrant.
I first became aware of this energy, when watching public access cable (Public access exists in many cities in the US; it's a forum where any citizen is empowered to broadcast their video over the cable system). This energy is abundant on the internet, manifesting itself in: Wiki's (especially Wikipedia), videos, blogs, personal websites...the list goes on. The media that incubates this energy is becoming increasingly common, and thus the spirit is growing.
The core of this shared energy is difficult, if not impossible to pin down. It would be convenient (and romantic) to ascribe it to the human quest for truth and the drive to share knowledge, but it seems deeper and more mysterious than that. I won't pontificate further on its relationship to human drive and our need to communicate, but that seems to be closer to the source than anything else.
A lot of my life has been spent chasing this ephemeral and undefinable thing. Currently, I am involved with Free Culture and the Participatory Culture Foundation, and see it as my charge to encourage and empower others to chase alongside me. I suspect that many folks will identify with this sentiment and are already nodding their heads, especially those who create media in their personal time. If you're not as experienced, I encourage you to find YOUR reason to create a piece of media, and then make it.
Share your creation with others -- this spirit is infectious.