In Andrew Keen’s book, The Cult of the Amateur, his main argument revolves around his criticism against the Internet and how companies are losing money because of websites that provide free advertising and free information.  He makes an excellent point that though the information that Internet users find on the web are free, e.g. Wikipedia, that means that it is costing money and losing business for the websites that make money from users trying to advertise and find information.  With the Internet making every so easily accessible and expense-free, Keen argues that it is costing users nothing, but is costing some companies millions of dollars.

At one point in the book, Keen brings up how the Internet has made users become “parasites,” feeding off the information of others instead of creating original works.  He utilized the example of Walt Disney, and how Disney’s creations are purely extracted from his own genius mind instead of being a cartoon that he happened to stumble upon while surfing the world wide web.

Similarly to Keen, Lashinsky also brings up Disney in his argument on “How Apple is Organized Like a Terrorist Cell.”  However, his about Disney was in relation to the death of Steve Jobs.  Lashinsky says, “There is no blue print for how a company can thrive without its visionary when that person is the single most important person.”  Lashinsky’s and Keen’s argument parallel when discussing the importance of originality.  For example, as stated earlier, Keen praises those who are not “parasites,” but individuals who create come up with their own original ideas.  Lashinsky too praises this idea of originality as he argues that Disney, similarly to Steve Jobs, was the driving force and visionary of their respective companies. It is through their original ideas and works that made them brilliant and successful.