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The New York Times is running an article entitled, "Talent Agency
is Aiming to Find Web Video Stars." The article reports that Brent
Weinstein, head of United Talent Agency’s new on-line division, said:

…The barrier to entry is so low, everybody is now a potential artist.
So there’s this great unwashed…talent out there, 99.999 percent of
which is probably not good enough to have a traditional film and
television career. But on the Internet, a lot of different types of
things go. And yet for buyers, this is a wall of people, so how does
a brand know which one of them can help it execute?

Read the Article!!

The Internet isn't only allowing people to be discovered. In his book,
The Long Tail, Chris Anderson explains that the Internet allows
individuals to sell products that would have been impossible to sell
before interconnectivity. Anderson’s book is based on an article of
the same name available at Wired Magazine.


Discussion-Starters:

  • Ask your child what the following words mean: “Talent
    Agency,” “barrier,” and “Internet.” Your child probably
    thinks that he/she knows what the Internet is. But, listen to
    the way that he/she explains it.

  • Ask your child how their life might be different if the Internet
    did not exist. What kind of games would they play? Does
    your child have any friends whom he/she met on the
    Internet? This might be a good opportunity to remind your
    child about Internet security. Tell your child about your first
    experiences on the Internet.

  • Ask your child what has to happen before a store can put a
    CD on its shelf to sell it, from the time the artist or recording
    company first decides to make a CD until the time it is sold.
    Now ask what must happen for an on-line company to sell
    music. Ask your child if something sold in a store should be
    cheaper than something sold on line. Encourage them to
    explain their opinions. Have you ever purchased something
    on line that wasn't cheaper than it would have been in a
    store? Why might this have been the case?

  • Stop and think about the incredible variety of any single
    product that exists in the market place. How many different
    types of shirts exist? Ask your child why a store would sell a
    limited number of shirts if so many exist. Has the Internet in
    any way influenced the options available to you when you
    want to purchase something? How?

  • Ask your child how he/she thinks that the questions asked in
    this Discussion-Starter relate to the newspaper article
    summarized above.
Internet and Opportunity
October 25, 2006
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