Recently, NPR (National Public Radio) had a phone interview with author Andrew Keen in which he and NPR host John Ydstie discussed Keen’s new book “The Cult of the Amateur: How Today’s Internet is Killing Our Culture”. \u00a0It was interesting to read about how Keen believes Web 2.0 (which includes things like Google, Youtube, and Myspace) is ruining our culture by reducing the amount of cultural gatekeepers on the Web. \u00a0Cultural gatekeepers are those entities that decide what kind of information should be presented to the public on the web and by not having these entities in place, Keen argues that “all we\u00a0have is opinion chaos,[and] a cacophony of amateurs” who “undermine the authority and expertise and professionalism of mainstream media.” \u00a0This is detrimental to our culture because it fails to provide a universally and ethically acceptable template for culture. \u00a0Furthermore, Keen argues against the notion that these trends are simply the first happenings of the downfall of capitalism and that we should let these things happen because they may in the end bring about something new and positive for our society. \u00a0Keen states that “we created this technology. We need to manage its consequences”, which could also be interpreted as Keen suggesting the internet be governed. \u00a0This notion is intriguing because of the recent news surrounding SOPA, legislation that tries to directly govern the internet. \u00a0I think that the dichotomy of opinions on this matter are important. \u00a0That being said, I think social media sites like twitter and facebook have shown that the internet cannot be governed at all. \u00a0I believe, as I think many do, that the concept of the Internet is so immense at this moment, that to try and impose rules and regulations upon it would be ineffective. \u00a0I believe that we need to simply watch the transformation of the Web and try and guide it and those using it, toward an ethical and culturally positive avenue.<\/p>\n
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Read the Podcast Transcript here…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Recently, NPR (National Public Radio) had a phone interview with author Andrew Keen in which he and NPR host John Ydstie discussed Keen’s new book “The Cult of the Amateur: How Today’s Internet is Killing Our Culture”. \u00a0It was interesting … Continue reading