The Web 2.0 Debate

Sunday's SF Chronicle featured a debate between Chris Anderson (The Long Tail) and British media entrepreneur Andrew Keen, who is writing The Cult of the Amateur, where he asserts that the rise of user-generated content is undermining the viability of professional media. Both sides of the argument – the wisdom of crowds versus the traditional role of the editor – are well represented. A great read.

It’s fascinating to see how our relationship with media has changed in recent years. Many of us grew up in the era when a few broadcast networks and a couple of major newspapers acted as the gatekeepers and arbiters of all news and popular culture. Today’s technology gives us the equivalent of direct control of what we want to watch or read. It also gives any of us unprecedented access to an audience for our own expression. In spite of all the substandard content that this has unleashed on the market, it’s hard to imagine that this is bad thing. It does mean that we all have to become more discriminating consumers of content, however, since for the same investment of time we now have unprecedented range of choices - from content that is deliciously fulfilling to that which should be considered garbage. As the old saying goes, it's not such a bad problem to have.