John Lennon would have been a blogger

Over time, or perhaps even more so during the time, it is hard to separate the artist from the art. John Lennon was a madly creative person who, happily, was born at the right time in history. Imagine if he had been born twenty-five years before, how stifled his art would have been. The 1960s did not happen because of the Beatles, Dylan, or the Rolling Stones. Actually, the Beatles became the Beatles because of the 60s, not the other way around.

The times foster the creativity and gives it an outlet, but the times do not create the artist, nor does the artist create the times. It is a collaborative relationship.

So what would the world be like had John Winston Lennon not been born in in Liverpool in 1940. What if, instead, he had been born in the heart of Silicon Valley thirty years later?

Was it the music that made John Lennon who he was, or did the music become what it was because of who Lennon was? I think it is the later, in that Lennon’s creative outlet growing up was music. It was what allowed him, originally, to get his words, ideas, and thoughts out into the world. It was the surest way to reach the largest audience he could. Which, today, would not have been the case.

If John Lennon was born thirty years later, 1970, as I was, John Lennon would have been a blogger. It makes perfect sense, in that it is not music that is the easiest way to reach people today, but the internet and writing. As bad as the music industry (record labels) may have been in the 1960s, it was nothing compared to the corrupt music industry of today. Do you really thinking a man like John Lennon would have done business with the RIAA? I don’t think so. He would have been on the front lines, fighting them. Can you see John Lennon suing his own fans for sharing his music with one another?

Lennon would be a blogger. He would be enamored with the power of the internet for the common man. He would be, right this moment, writing articles about Iraq, about the Bush administration, or about putting the power of the internet to use in organizing and fighting back. (metaphorically, of course) He would have relished the idea of communicating not just with those who agree with him, but also those who did not. He would preach love, not war.

The idea for this blog post was originally a grand idea, one I had been thinking of for a long while. I think I waited too long to write it, as I lost all my good ideas along the way. But rather than write this all by myself, I want to open this topic up to you, and get your feedback. Do you think John Lennon would have been a blogger today? If not, why? If so, again, why?

The floor is open. I am more curious on your take, not my own.