The great digital seduction
11:49am
Last week the RSA hosted ‘The Great Digital Seduction’, a lively event that gave rise to a gripping and important debate.
On one side was Andrew Keen, author of The Cult of the Amateur, railing against what he called the cacophony of Web 2.0 and the calamitous effects of user-generated content on our culture. Keen vigorously bemoaned the decline of the old cultural gatekeepers, the emergence of ‘digital narcissism’ and the resulting proliferation of inane and banal content on the web. Tim Montgomerie, editor of ConservativeHome and BritainAndAmerica.com, gave a robust defence of new media. He pointed out that old media (of which Keen has a somewhat romantic view) has its problems too. New media is good for democracy and participation and, contrary to Keen’s claims, there are many expert voices (e.g., burningourmoney.blogspot.com; nhsblogdoc.blogspot.com) flourishing in the blogosphere.
The event is available as a podcast here and is well worth listening to. (Listen out for the exchange between Keen and the managing director of Encyclopaedia Britannica in the Q&A session.)
Also worth checking out: http://andrewkeen.typepad.com/
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dizzy
September 10th, 2007 1:07pm Report this commentSo let me get this straight. He hates the "cacophony of Web 2.0" and he has a blog on Typepad?
Lucy Vickery
September 10th, 2007 7:50pm Report this commentI'm not sure if this sufficiently addresses that apparent paradox but here's Keen in a debate with the Guardian's Emily Bell admitting that the Internet does have its uses, not least in promoting his book:
'I'm not a Luddite and I'm certainly not suggesting that all technological progress is a bad thing. I actually like the internet. I think it is a wonderfully useful communications and informational tool. I couldn't have written or marketed my book without email or Google. I love BBC and NPR podcasts, the Guardian, the Huffington Post and Politico.com, iTunes and eMusic, ComedyCentral.com and CharlieRose.com. '
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