The world has seen a domino effect in this advancement. Technology has brought change in health care, transportation and how we communicate. Even in the last few years we see more communicating with one another than man ever has and I wonder how and if governments can even control this phenomenal “Tower of Babel” available to us today.
The point I’m trying to make is that those of us in technologically advanced countries, and even in third world countries, have found new ways to entertain ourselves, since this progression of man has taken away a lot of the work we have to do. No more getting up at dawn to milk the cows or plow the field for most of us, and even going to the grocery store is getting replaced by delivery services. Now we have tablets we carry in our purses to talk to friends, watch movies, read books, write books.
SF writers carry the weight of responsibility by keeping ahead of the ingenuity game! A sure challenge for authors and visionaries.
We all know that change has entered the publishing arena. Authors understand the new paradigm are taking full advantage. Self publishing has boomed, advancing self published and Indie presses to the top of sales, leaving the big companies paddling up stream to keep their hold of the industry.Though sometimes it takes a decade to write a book, readers can download one for pennies and have it on their tablet in less time than it takes to yawn. Hopefully this new way of doing things will make more readers out of us all!
Little has been said about the change in film making, but with further investigation, one will notice a parallel path.
Having recently stepped into the Indie Film industry, producing one of my YA fantasy books* into a potential TV series with a marvelous crew of Seattle talent, I have been amazed at the wide open door for Independents. No longer is Hollywood dictating movies. Digital camera technology has made it affordable for folks to dive into the art. Film making workshops and schools are popping up everywhere. Film Festivals are making it possible for even amateurs with only a smart phone camera to showcase their work. Distributors such as NetFlix, Amazon, and other subscription companies are popping up, including foreign markets. Even Independent theaters have left the old way of buying films. The number of crowd sourcing platforms is mind boggling.
And I can’t help but feel this is all transient. The change is constant. Even baby boomers have to plug into the times if they want to enjoy the race.
*See our post on the crowd funding campaign for Cassandra’s Castle here.
