Marx and the Blogosphere

A very interesting article by Andrew Keen about how "Web 2.0" - the idea that the new internet is now all about empowering people by letting them express themselves through blogs, etc. - is like Marx's version of communism. By seducing people to be writers in the morning, musicians in the afternoon and film directors in the evening, this new Web 2.0 creates a "cultural flattenening."

Frankly, I think it's all bunk. By giving people the means to express themselves, you are not "flattening" the culture with white noise. In fact, I don't think it's going to change anything. Just because X, Y and Z can express their opinions freely online does not mean that their opinions or writings are diluted in any way. This technology provides another easier, and cheaper way to allow everyone (including stupid people) to disseminate their opinion. But it also allows me - as a discerning, analytical, critical, intelligent (I'll stop now, lest I get carried away...) - to ignore X and Y's opinion just as easily as I would listen to Z's. By that logic, we should have banned the photocopier years ago...

Read the whole article here at the CBS News website.
Or go to Andrew Keen's blog at The Great Seduction .