The democratization of the Internet allowed for an incredible leap in our communication: creators can communicate directly with their audience without the gatekeeper.

It was no longer necessary to get discovered as a musician to build a fan base. Writers can communicate directly with their readers, artists could share their work directly and manufacturers could sell directly to its customers.

While there was always an opportunity to do this before, the ability to reach the entire world was new.

Yes, it meant a much more competitive environment to get your voice heard, but it was possible for all to find their niche. There was no longer one funnel to control where our attention was diverted towards.

Somewhere along the line, we screwed up.

We have created our own gatekeepers again by channeling all our work and attention towards platforms that control the flow of information. Matthew Inman has an excellent comic illustrating its evolution.

While this may not have been intentional, we’ve once again given our power over to others. We can still ride the disruptive technology our interconnected communication network offers, but we need to be intentional about it.

That is, until another disruptive force comes along and democratizes our attention once again.

Will we create a new gatekeeper when that happens as well?

We seem to have a habit of doing it.