We rely on professionals to provide us with new inventions, programs and other ideas. We seek their advice and we call upon them when we can not figure out a solution to a problem. If we take a look at industries such as technology and music we see a new group of artists and designers emerging creating and designing music and programs. These new artist and designers do not have the same credentials as the professionals but they are just as committed and innovative as the professionals. These artists and designers are now known as pro-am.
They are rap artists, scientists, business men and women. They have helped to save the economy and have also helped professional astronomers confirm the theory that explains what happens when a star explodes. The have helped small countries solve minor economic problems. The advancements of the pro-am have caused many to professionals to defend their professions and try to reclaim their monopoly on them. However, as Paul Miller and Charles Leadbetter suggests, we may call upon both the professionals and the amateurs to collaborate to solve complex problems.
Most of us have always depended upon amateurs in order to save money. We find people who are good with their hands to fix minor car problems or to do minor repairs around the house. The labor is cheaper and may even be free. However, when there is a major problem we take our cars to a professional shop, or hire a carpenter or a contractor for for major renovations. There will always be a need professionals.
We can not always depend on the amateur to have the right answer or solution to the problem. I am sure they seek advice from professionals in the development or research of their crafts. So we can leave it to the professionals but also seek assistance from the pro-am.
I completely agree with you. There is a need for professionals, and pro-ams, who set professional standards for themselves within their chosen fields, can help strengthen our society/culture, too, in some ways. You have mentioned several great examples here already from the readings.
Below is a great summary of the Pro-Am revolution written by Demos (the actual study doesn’t have a link).
“From astronomy to activism, from surfing to saving lives, Pro-Ams – people pursuing amateur activities to professional standards – are an increasingly important part of our society and economy. For Pro-Ams, leisure is not passive consumerism but active and participatory, it involves the deployment of publicly accredited knowledge and skills, often built up over a long career, which has involved sacrifices and frustrations. The 20th century witnessed the rise of professionals in medicine, science, education, and politics. In one field after another, amateurs and their ramshackle organisations were driven out by people who knew what they were doing and had certificates to prove it. The Pro-Am Revolution argues this historic shift is reversing. We’re witnessing the flowering of Pro-Am, bottom-up self-organisation and the crude, all or nothing, categories of professional or amateur will need to be rethought.”
While pro-ams obviously create competition for professionals and, in some cases, even rival professionals, I do think that professionalism is important in any industry. I’m all for people who set high standards for themselves, like the pro-ams. Collaboration between them and professionals could be very useful in many ways.