AWMAM
The internet is a truly wonderful thing – it allows collaboration with other businesses and people, it gives users a mountain of information, educational resources, and entertaining content. The internet brings together communities of like minded people, links charities & support groups with those who need them, it allows people to form relationships with others, it provides a means for creating real changes in oppressed parts of the world, and it provides a framework of data which helps run hospitals, government departments, and scientific establishments worldwide. But that’s not the most important role of the internet. The world wide web provides a vital outlet for the emotional and sexual frustrations of:
"ANGRY WHITE MIDDLE AGED MAN"
The AWMAM is the primary reason that the internet exists. It was actually created by one – Tim Lee Whatsisname, who was searching for a way to get hold of pictures of dirty women without having to traipse into John Menzies, and face the old woman behind the counter. That is a fact.
Anyway, I logged onto a webinar last night. A webinar which was being hosted by a photo business guru called Beate Chellette. She’s quite a character (American Russian I think), and has that eternal optimism that seems to be inherent in everybody with loads of money in the States. (The poor people are just a negative and miserable as they are here). This was a webinar about stock photography, and the guest speaker was the CEO of Alamy in the UK. He addressed several issues surrounding the practicalities of the stock business in the digital age, with a slant on his own business obviously. There were some “teach your grandma to suck eggs” moments, and some useful bits of information also. A typical webinar in fact. On the right of the screen, the webinar hosting company provided a chat function for the 200 or so viewers to join in with relevant comments & questions. Now I’m a realist, and sometimes I can take a negative view on stuff if I think is pants – but some of the AWMAM’s watching this event were in the Premier League of miserable idiots. Comments ranged from whinges about the sound quality, to the accent of the English geezer. when they started complaining about the whole stock industry I actually logged off, as it was spoiling my life by that point.
Now I’m white, I’m middle-aged, and I could be described as a man if you ignore my fear of spiders, not being able to swim, & the fact that I tie my laces like a five year old, and sometimes I get angry like the Hulk, but I’m not likely to be found spouting off bullshit rhetoric on an industry forum, or trolling fellow pro’s during a webinar. Most of these idiots have never been near a professional shoot, but use the anonymous nature of the internet to vent their frustration at being a failure to anyone who will listen. I’m not listening.
Now…..where’s that video with the shaved cat playing the banjo?
