The Conference
Well, my first presentation is tomorrow. My second is on Saturday.
Ethan Zuckerman's talk today was truly fascinating. If you ever get the chance, listen to him. We have a lot to learn from him.
After his session, I took in Andrew Keen's rather intriguing interpretation of how the internet is killing our culture. He wrote the book The Cult of the Amateur. Since I haven't read the book, I will only say that I thought his ideas are worth thinking about. Perhaps I will have more to say if I can be motivated to read the book.
5 comments:
Global Voices is a significant project I have always appreciated.
You are certainly right about that. I should make the effort to visit the site more often.
Ruining our culture?? Really I guess I never thought of having internet buddies as ruining out culture before. I mean I wouldnt know half of you if I didnt have internet access.
Keen makes some interesting points, but I found him veering to the extremes at times. It's almost as if he wants to through the cultural baby out with the bathwater.
I don't disagree with him on some fundamental level -- I do think that we shouldn't come to undervalue the training, research, education,and time that goes into becoming an "expert".
Frankly, I don't want to get my news from a 17-year old high school student (to use one of Keen's examples, IIRC from reading the book); but we're never going to stop him blogging, nor should we.
But from my point of view, I think it's more important to turn out well-rounded, well-educated citizens, who have good thinking, logic, and analysis skills, and who are, therefore, better able to cope with and evaluate the onslaught of information and cultural product that's out there.
If we raise a generation to be ill-educated and willing to believe anything they are told, and then we tell them anyone can be famous/special, then why would be expect anything but the cult of the amateur?
k,
Yes,I agree with. Upon reflection, I would say that there may be a grain of truth in what he says, but not much more than that. It is an extreme argument, and one that should be heard, buy I am not convinced. Of course, I still have to read it.
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