The internet is a wonderful place.

Allow me to elaborate.

I just read both of these articles for DS106 class. They are very interesting. I was already familiar with the concept of Mashup and Remix (I actually took a freshman seminar class with Zacharski on the topic, and now I wish I had taken it more seriously). It’s all over the internet, and it’s growing exponentially.

If you haven’t heard of them, you need to check out:
The Gregory Brothers
and DJ Earworm

On the topic of the readings, I found it all very interesting, but I’m honestly surprised at how seriously these people take this stuff! I mean, I love mashups and remixes, but to me they were just fun, artsy internet memes. On the other hand, I love how generic the terms become in both of these articles. Instead of just meaning audio and video, they can mean anything! I have always been an internet hippie, and I think that people should share their art!

What if people worked together?

I don’t mean two friends working together on a DS106 assignment.

I don’t mean a dozen people working together to start an independent studio.

I don’t even mean a thousand people working together to produce Google.

I mean, what if all those people (like, ALL those people) worked together?

I don’t know if it will ever happen.
People are proud of their work, and they want to keep it to themselves.
But imagine if they didn’t.

Imagine if people left their work sitting around so other people could pick up where they left off?

How much faster would we progress as a species if we didn’t have to start everything from scratch every time?

Imagine the discoveries.

Imagine the inventions.

Imagine the totally awesome video games!

Dwarf Fortress is one of my favorite examples. It’s a free indie game, and the forum is BRIMMING with free graphics sets, mods, fan art, stories, tech support, visualizers and supplementary applications to make the experience even better. It has a relatively small fan base, but it seems like all the fans are doing something for it. Honestly, it’s one of the friendliest forums I’ve ever been a part of. We share ideas, we share art, we help each other with everything.

But most of all, the game (which has been in development for 5 years and is still considered an alpha) is evolving and growing around and within the forum. Tarn Adams, the creator of the game, doesn’t just create a game and force it upon its players. Instead, we suggest ideas, complain about interface issues, report bugs, enjoy funny glitches, and in general bounce ideas back and forth amongst ourselves. It’s as though one massive hive-mind is creating a game, which to me is awesome, because no matter the circumstances, ten thousand minds are better than one.

This mindset makes so much sense to me, and I really truly think it’s the way of the future.
If everyone could just cooperate, we could make the very best… EVERYTHING!