Amateur vs. Pro
I've been doing some thinking lately about amateur endeavors versus professional. There is a clear line between the two, but I'm still trying to gather enough clarity to know how much of that line is psychological and how much is . . . “real”. Certainly there is a psychological component involved, for in general any work done by an amateur is supposedly not as good as the work done by professionals, and quite often they are treated as second class (or worse). Sometimes it is quite very true that the amateur realm is substandard, but that doesn't always seem to be the case, and sometimes that doesn't even seem to matter.
Not wishing to be misconstrued I will state, for the record, that I like a mixture of professional and amateur works. Some of my favorite authors are “professional” and then again there are some “amateur” online writers I really enjoy reading as well. I like “professional” television, but I'm also enjoying some of the new amateur stuff to hit the 'Net. At this stage in my life I'm really enjoying podcasts which some could call “amateur radio” and I wholesale reject radio (with only two exceptions, both being techno channels on Sirius).
I've spent a great deal of time thinking about the divide between amateur and professional. In some cases I enjoy the amateur over the professional, but then again I feel more free to recommend a professional over an amateur. I might come under some heat for this, but I think the reason is the degree of polish. It seems to me that an amateur puts forth is work as a hobby, and for the love of the art (or craft); I have enjoyed a great many works put out by such people and in every one there is a subtle passion for the work itself woven into it that is not often seen outside the amateur realm. Professionalism seems to take a more calculated and less passionate approach to any given work, opting to revise and polish a piece so it will appeal to the widest possible audience. Professionals are in business and as such they cannot care about the art in the same way since they need to care about their own survival.
Sure, I am oversimplifying the issue, but this is a point that I am not sure is discussed often enough. The Internet has brought forth a wealth of hobbyists pursuing their passion with abandon and sharing their work with others. There is an intangible element to a work of love and passion which I don't often find in more professional work. Sure, I like the polish of professional things, and there are some pursuits of mine that I would want to have that same gleam and shimmer, but then there are those times, those pieces of heart and love which need to live apart from the attention of professionalism.
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Amateur vs. Pro.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://blog.0kelvin.net/mt-tb.cgi/318
Leave a comment