Silicon Valley entrepreneur Andrew Keen is an apostate. Years ago, he founded a digital-music Web site and he now runs a business that helps other companies learn to advertise on cell phones. But Keen doesn't trust the proselytizers who claim that the latest phase of media democratization is building a better world. With the number of bloggers topping 70 million and 65,000 videos being posted daily to YouTube.com, the so-called 'œWeb 2.0' revolution appears irreversible. But the explosion of user-generated content, Keen writes, privileges propaganda and 'œshrill opinion' over deep objective analysis. It's also unleashed a 'œtidal wave' of sloppy and tasteless video art and music. Worse, he says, these new barbarians are undermining the economic viability of more traditional media industries by stealing their audiences.
As you might imagine, said Michael Rogers in MSNBC.com, bloggers have been bashing Keen mercilessly since he first laid out his argument in a Weekly Standard essay last year. But the author understands the technologies he's writing about, and he's voicing widespread concerns that are too often ignored by 'œthe reigning digerati.' True, if publishing or the pop music industry collapses, most of the public might conclude that those industries got what they deserved for producing so much garbage over the years. But publishers and record labels also have served as 'œthe venture capitalists of culture, advancing money so that a writer can take years to research a great book or a band can concentrate on creating a strong body of music.' If every artist has to work on spec, some works simply won't be ventured.
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