'Digital technology turns media consumers into media producers.' Essay

'Digital technology turns media consumers into media producers.'

In your own experience, how has your creativity developed through using digital technology to complete your coursework productions?

In the past one hundred years or so, digital technology has taken a huge leap forward. In the late 1800's, radio was first invented, followed quickly by television in the 1920's, and the World Wide Web in the 1990's. With the introduction of the WWW to the public, the biggest switch-around in media consumerism to date has occurred, ultimately tipping the original act of 'spoon-feeding the audience' on it's head, and allowing the once media consumer to become a powerful media producer in it's own kind.
The possibilities for people living in the 1990's and onwards are remarkable in terms of having a voice in the happenings of media production. Viewers can now give back as much as they get. Who were once restricted by a lack of freedom in voice, can now create their own.
I have experienced first-hand how flexible the Web can be. With ever-growing software such as Photoshop, Imovie and PowerPoint, anybody is able to create their own products, whether that be films or advertising posters, and put them online, viewable for anyone to see, rate or get involved with. Self-made productions are now possible to create. Photoshop allows me to create believable products, and websites like Google make it simple for one to go online and research similar products to inspire creativity and ensure a professional quality surrounds self-made products.
Prime examples of how the development in media technology has allowed a new generation - a public generation - to take charge of their own careers and ideas are Facebook inventor, Mark Zuckerberg. What once started off as a fun and practical way for his college friends to stay in touch, became an ideal social media site that was expanded worldwide and made him a multi-billionaire overnight. Other examples are now-famous musical artists, Esmee Denters and Justin Bieber, who used public video website Youtube to post their covers of songs and eventually were  recognised and sought out by talent scouters.
Marshall McLuhan, a philosopher in communication theory who grew up and passed before the invention of the WWW once said, 'There are no passengers on spaceship earth, we are all crew.' He understood the power media consumers could easily gain, and the truth of this statement rings truer than ever with every advancing technology.