Full Text: Keen vs. Weinberger - WSJ.com
A great snapshot of two articulate spokespeople on either side of the debate about whether web 2.0 is destroying quality/high culture through enabling easy access and attention on "miscellaneous"/low culture.
I think what we're seeing on the web is a reflection of the collective consciousness - a consciousness that has often focused on the trivial, insignificant and lacking in talent and/or substance (local news, trash talk tv, pop music, Hollywood, sit coms, anyone?). But now that the long tail of that collective consciousness is more visible, lots of people aren't happy about it.
Gatekeepers of high culture are still relevant. People still want experts, authorities and - yes - algorithms to help them decide what's relevant.
But gatekeepers and content owners who profit from concentrations of attention clearly have a vested financial interest in maintaining their share of attention. The long tail of "lowbrow, miscellaneous content" represents competition for attention, and therefore, it's no surprise that cultural critics and defenders of the existing media universe alike are sometimes critical of the new landscape.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
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