Creativity by the individual for the infinite

Just as blogging has opened up creative writing, or at least free-form journaling, to the general public, tools like Flickr have encouraged ordinary people to express themselves through digital photography and to share it with an infinite number of strangers and friends. We've seen teens on our public website expressing their individuality and creativity in some very visually sophisticated ways. One of my favorites is a photo taken of a field of flowers: from the angle that the photographer has chosen, the field appears to hold an infinite number of alike flowers, but the focus is on the one flower that stands out.

I see Flickr encouraging teens to express and celebrate what makes them unique even as they face immense pressure to conform. Even the shy, socially awkward teen can create something that will garner the respect and appreciation of a large, diverse audience. And this tool obviously is open to people of all ages; makes me want to get a digital camera and see what I come up with.