Keen on Himself
Andrew Keen, conservative commentator on Web 2.0, succeeds in making obvious connections– such as that between internet culture and Marxist thought (presumption: this is a bad thing). Check out this article:
Web 2.0 Is Reminiscent Of Marx, WS: Second-Generation Internet Is Dangerously Seductive – CBS News
I’m listening now to a UC Berkeley podcast in which Keen, as guest speaker for the Introduction to Computers class, makes an interesting contrast between our Web 2.0 present and the hyptothetical future described by George Orwell in 1984. Unlike in 1984, where writing in a journal is an act of defiance and individuality, Keen suggests that the ultimate act of defiance and individuality today is not to pick up pen and paper, or rather, not to blog. Most bloggers, he argues, have nothing to say.
Of course, Keen blogs. And podcasts. Incessantly. Main topic: why other people have nothing to say and ought to stop talking.
Why do stupid things happen to smart people? Poor Keen. The internet exists to serve him, apparently, and his fellow elite. But when it serves others, the whole thing feels too new and “seductive” to him (his book is called The Great Seduction; forgive no link). In some ways, I can find myself in agreeement. New ideas can be hard to digest. Better to go back and review time honored, classical concepts, like (ready, Keen?) hubris.