The Cult of the Amateur: How today’s Internet is killing our culture (Hardcover)
Here is what Publisher weekly has to say on Keen
Keen’s relentless “polemic” is on target about how a sea of amateur content threatens to swamp the most vital information and how blogs often reinforce one’s own views rather than expand horizons. But his jeremiad about the death of “our cultural standards and moral values” heads swiftly downhill. Keen became somewhat notorious for a 2006 Weekly Standard essay equating Web 2.0 with Marxism; like Karl Marx, he offers a convincing overall critique but runs into trouble with the details. Readers will nod in recognition at Keen’s general arguments-sure, the Web is full of “user-generated nonsense”!-but many will frown at his specific examples, which pretty uniformly miss the point. It’s simply not a given, as Keen assumes, that Britannica is superior to Wikipedia, or that record-store clerks offer sounder advice than online friends with similar musical tastes, or that YouTube contains only “one or two blogs or songs or videos with real value.” And Keen’s fears that genuine talent will go unnourished are overstated: writers penned novels before there were publishers and copyright law; bands recorded songs before they had major-label deals. In its last third, the book runs off the rails completely, blaming Web 2.0 for online poker, child pornography, identity theft and betraying “Judeo-Christian ethics.” (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
________________________________________________________________
Here is what I have to say on Keen:
Mr. Keen is very keen to declare and hastily so the power of internet as a failure to provide quality information. any self respecting knowledge worker would swear by the poer of information and role of internet in making it freely available. I do not see any harm in getting first hand accounts of experience, product reviews, news views and free information on wiki as long as its helping me do my job efficiently. Information as we know today has undergone tremendouse change in the way its presented and made availble. Is it not due to the internet that i came to know about your well written book in a bad taste as if you have a venegence to take from all those who are firm beleivers in a free world?
Do you by any means represent the industry lobby Mr. Keen? the ones like Microsoft, News Corp, Various advertising agencies, Press people and so called professional editors who manage content on various print mediums? Are you paid by them to write a book like this because they are the only ones who seem to be supporting your book. And unfortunately Mr. Keen they are the ones who have harnessed the power of Internet to publicise them selves to make themselves popular. I really do not care a damn for any editor as long as the message is sent across about new products, services , news views and current affairs. Is it not the definition of communication that:”The exchange of thoughts, messages, or information, as by speech, signals, writing, or behavior”
So when the communication is complete the user is served, the requirements are met why complain because all this is happening but you are not paying a dime for this. This has been made possible kind courtsey tens of thousands of dilligent amatures spending there valuable time writing blogs and uploading information on wikis and updating contents on various review sites so that You Mr. Keen can rest in your cozy bedroom and think about how the SO UNPROFESSIONAL amatures are killing our culture.
As far as child pronography, Gambling, pronography in other formats are concerned, please allow me to inform you Mr. Keen that some of your Professional journalists and editors are also doing it in the real world and we read them in the form of various magazines. so thease are the problems of the society Mr. Keem So what do you suggest eliminate every one and let only professionals live here in this professional world?
Well I am not going to leave it here I have a lot to say and i will continue it in my next updation. till then Mr. Keen Longlive the Internet and Long Live the freedom of expression andlonf live free information.
I WILL BE BACK….
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Leave a Reply