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In a world of high discovery costs, people who really cared about the Muppets or wrote Back to the Future fan fiction had a hard time finding others who shared their interests... [In] a world of low discovery costs, however, people who care about certain things can find each other and interact, away from the mass of us who just don't get it.

Clay Shirky, Cognitive Surplus: How Technology Makes Consumers into Collaborators

In the third chapter of his book, Cognitive Surplus, Clay Shirky starts off by introducing the Josh Groban Effect [term not coined by Shirky], otherwise known as the history of the Josh Groban fan club website and subsequent amateur-run-by-Grobanites charity auction site called Grobanites for Charity. He uses this example to begin to explain why we - voluntarily - use our own free time, money, resources, skills, what-have-you, for something that “produces no obvious tangible reward”. Or, what motivates us in this day and age of social media/online platforms to willingly, even proudly, put in our own hard work into what we’re passionate about and share it with the virtual world.

Shirky goes on to say, “Amateurs generally use public access not to reach the broadest possible audience but to reach people like themselves, just as the Grobanites for Charity tried to reach more Groban fans.”

And that’s one of the many, many reasons why I love the technology we have now, because it allows us - in our case, on this blog, fellow creators - to not only have a platform to share our creations, our passions, our opinions, and so on, but also find and connect with others like ourselves. I know it’s not always smooth sailing, and to be honest it will never come without some kind of cost or risk. Does that mean it’s not worth it? Hell no. It’s so much easier now, 10 years after Shirky published his book, to share and connect with these like-minded people all over the world. Hell, it doesn't even have to reach a global audience; if it's what you love to do, and you want to share it with those who also share that same love, it'll be worth it. They’re going to be the ones who “get” you, who understand the unbridled passion and desire to create and connect in ways you didn’t think were possible.

I hope that this blog becomes that kind of safe place, a second home, a community for you creative cats. I hope that you will feel welcome and safe enough to connect with and share what you love with each other. Keep on being fantabulous, and keep on creating!