"Smashed" into Apathy

This is just a quick thought I had to get out of my head. I have to admit my psyche has a bittersweet relationship with the design super blogs. Places like, Smashing Magazine, Design Reviver, the Envato Network and Web Designer Wall.

First of all, I have a lot of respect for places like this, because they dedicate their time to spreading awesome information through tutorials and articles. A lot of them are run by people who are immensely creative and run circles around me when it came to truly mastering Photoshop and the like.

But that's the thing.

The other side of the coin shows the same issue, but when it concerns my motivation to write articles, tutorials, build themes and the like. The only thing I can compare it to at the moment is say, Walmart closing down the smaller mom-and-pop shops. It's because these blogs have dedicated and creative staff. They're also businesses running on that premise. They need to do this to make sure they stay afloat. In doing so, it gives me an odd feeling.

"What's the use?" I'd say to myself, they'd probably be able to do it better. I'm sure this apathetic feeling is just me. While I'm bothered, I'm not. Because really, I can only offer so much. I only wonder if other people are finding it hard to want to write or create things because of the larger blogs doing the same. For example, Smashing Magazine and their numerous WordPress themes, seems like one a week these days.

To conclude, the only thing I do fear, is the spread of misinformation. Things like the second point of Smashing's article on table designs shouldn't be there. Because these destinations have such clout these days, they have to be extra careful. I fear they won't be because it's the nature and speed of the business, but for the sake of the people in our industry who have tirelessly taught standards, we can't have the next generation of designers learning the wrong things.