
I wracked my brain to come up with something for the Illustration Friday word 'Yield', and was about to throw in the towel when this ridiculous image popped into my head. Don't know where it came from but it made me laugh out loud at the absurdity of it.
Then I started thinking about the actual truth in this image: Have you ever thought of some great idea that you were so sure was original and then gone to the internet only to find out that about fifty people have already thought of it? Doesn't seem to make any difference how random the idea is either. How about if you decide to collect something that nobody else collects, like maybe decorative beadwork toaster covers made while bicycling? Think again. There will already be a hundred people who are looking for that and two or three authorities on the subject with websites and books out on it.
I suppose it's always been this way, but in the past we weren't so aware of all the competition out there. Ignorant bliss. Unfortunately, the internet makes it all so painfully real anymore, at the touch of a button, that it's very difficult to be first with an idea. Luckily, we can still improve on ideas that are already out there, so there's still hope for us creative types.
So, because of all this competition, I imagine that in some remote, out of the way jungle (if we still have those places) there are a bunch of dudes who had the 'original' idea to give up the rat race, don loincloths, and swing from vine to vine as Tarzan did, in one big hectic traffic jam amongst the apes.
Gentlemen, may you all find your Jane.