Jun 20, 2007 10:05 pm US/Pacific
Internet Called 'Eruption Of The Untalented'
by Sue Kwon
(CBS 5)
The title -- "The Cult of the Amateur" -- says it all, and you can bet those in the group that author Andrew Keen is referring to are not happy with his book bashing bloggers and some of the most popular sites on the Web.
"What we have in this Web 2.0 economy is an eruption of the untalented people with no real abilities, wasting our time and their time," Keen said.
Keen claims blogs and other user-generated content sites threaten society, our learning, culture and the economy.
There are, at last count, close to 30 million blogs and collaboration Web sites like Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia that anyone can add information to.
One in three adults on the Internet use Wikipedia, including blogger Cliff Brooks.
"It's breadth is amazing. If it's a pop culture reference, it's there. If it's a technical reference, it's there. That's what I like about Wikipedia," he said.
Keen argues, The problem with Wikipedia is everything is miscellaneous. It's for the lowest common denominator."
He also argues that the Web 2.0 movement is making experts and journalists out of amateurs, and users don't look at information on the Internet with a critical eye.
"You have corporate interests on sites like YouTube. Wal-Mart has a blog claiming to be independent. Exxon sponsors video on YouTube undermining Al Gore," Keen said. "There is a nightmare scenario where mainstream media withers away and new media becomes like YouTube where everything becomes advertising."
Whether you agree with him or not, Keen's controversial arguments continue in his new book and on his blog.
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