Creativity

So how does new media foster creativity?  Put simply, new media makes it easy to develop new compositions.  Being creative in this sense is quick and inexpensive.  Making a new mashup, for example, merely combines work from different sources to bring forth new meaning to the pieces.  According Frere-Jones, anyone with a computer and the right software can create a new work with little effort.  Further, the idea does not just sit on the shelves of a library or record store.  Sites like Vimeo and YouTube allow creators and users to share the product, which may go viral as a result.  New viewers may then gain inspiration from these and subsequently create their own work.  

Companies have found new media to be cost effective when designing new products. Leaders like Lego and Twitter, for instance, use social platforms to let average people submit their designs.  This is creative outsourcing at its best, yet the negative aspects are still being worked out.  

Copyright matters, royalty agreements, and "what is art" aesthetics are called into question when everyone (and anyone) holds the key to the means of production.  It is curious that these worries do not restrict the desire or ability to create new work, as they tend to in the offline world.  Maybe it is the legal grey area fostered by new media that allows the creativity to continue.