The Cult of the Amateur (Or Why The Blogosphere Sucks)

New York Times ^ | 29 June 2007 | By MICHIKO KAKUTANI

[shrinkermd]

Digital utopians have heralded the dawn of an era in which Web 2.0 — distinguished by a new generation of participatory sites like MySpace.com and YouTube.com, which emphasize user-generated content, social networking and interactive sharing — ushers in the democratization of the world: more information, more perspectives, more opinions, more everything, and most of it without filters or fees. Yet as the Silicon Valley entrepreneur Andrew Keen points out in his provocative new book, “The Cult of the Amateur,” Web 2.0 has a dark side as well.

Mr. Keen argues that “what the Web 2.0 revolution is really delivering is superficial observations of the world around us rather than deep analysis, shrill opinion rather than considered judgment.” In his view Web 2.0 is changing the cultural landscape and not for the better. By undermining mainstream media and intellectual property rights, he says, it is creating a world in which we will “live to see the bulk of our music coming from amateur garage bands, our movies and television from glorified YouTubes, and our news made up of hyperactive celebrity gossip, served up as mere dressing for advertising.” This is what happens, he suggests, “when ignorance meets egoism meets bad taste meets mob rule.”

[Carbonado]

One thing to consider: Many posts on Free Republic will probably have as many readers as most stories in the NYT (Except the front page), and thats real influence. The Leftists in the media thought they had a lock on the information channels and were smug and happy as could be when they were the only game in town.

I think it also irks them beyond belief to have we pajama-clad plebeians having more influence (and maybe more respectability) than those patricians who studied so hard for classes like “Womens studies” and “Activism in media”.

I believe despite all the wailing and gnashing-of-teeth they know, deep down, that their privileged positions are being undermined by that which they profess to admire - The common people - And it will take more than whining, deconstruction and trashy sentimentality to get them back the respect of those common people.

[Publius6961]

By undermining mainstream media and intellectual property rights, he says, it is creating a world in which we will “live to see the bulk of our music coming from amateur garage bands, our movies and television from glorified YouTubes, and our news made up of hyperactive celebrity gossip, served up as mere dressing for advertising.” This is what happens, he suggests, “when ignorance meets egoism meets bad taste meets mob rule.”

I'm not sure how 'intellectual property rights' got into the discussion (Microshaft 'protected content'?), but the statement is right on, in spite of the inconvenient reality that the mainstream media is only different, not better.

It doesn't matter if the truth is twisted out of the need to control or out of ignorance. Its uselessness is exactly the same.

[TheLawyerFormerlyKnownAsAl]

Since contributors to Wikipedia and YouTube editorial writers are frequently always anonymous, it’s hard by definition impossible for users to be certain of their identity — or their agendas. thought it needed a little fixing.

[Publius6961]

"...best available truth...",
as opposed to the "somewhat good avilable truth"?

LOL!
No, as opposed to forged but accurate 'truth'...

[Publius6961]

Saying "mainstream media" and "intellectual" in the same sentence seems to clash in the reader's mind....

Nothing worse than an overeducated, erudite cognitive dissonance neurotic...

[Wonder Warthog]

...a social phenomenon embracing an approach to generating and distributing Web content itself, characterized by open communication, decentralization of authority, freedom to share and re-use, and "the market as a conversation...."

From Wikipedia, as one definition of "Web 2.0". It definitely sounds like FR to me. I was referring to the social meme---not a user interface.