"A new medium is never an addition to an old one, nor does it leave the old one in peace. It never ceases to oppress the older media until it finds new shapes and positions for them. Each medium, if its bias is properly exploited, reveals and communicates a unique aspect of reality, of truth." -Amanda Griscom, "Trends of Anarchy and Hierarchy: Comparing the Cultural Repercussions of Print and Digital Media"*

"This destruction of value is what makes weblogs so important. We want a world where global publishing is effortless. We want a world where you don't have to ask for help or permission to write out loud. However, when we get that world we face the paradox of oxygen and gold. Oxygen is more vital to human life than gold, but because air is abundant, oxygen is free." -Clay Shirky, "Weblogs and the Mass Amateurization of Publishing"*

"[T]he fundamental architecture of hyperlinking ensures that the value of the web is created by its users." -Tim O'Reilly, "The Architecture of Participation"*

The Internet has made it possible for the average person to have their voice heard in the networked world. Where people used to be constrained by lack of access to the tools and publishing opportunities available to professionals, now an amateur filmmaker or songwriter can have their work seen and heard by people everywhere. Whether this makes a difference to their success or progress in that area of work, there is debate. However, undoubtedly this new method has added a level of noise that was not previously present and within that noise is a farrago of ideas, skills, additions and products of amateurs and professionals alike. Certainly the two are different, but the inability to make their work available to the public is no longer a determining factor. Does this mean the amateurs are going to propel themselves into the professional world? There may be a few. And what are the effects of their new presence in the public forum? A variety of ripples and waves that contribute to the noise in this ocean of opportunity.