Keen Responses

1.    1. how does Keen define Democratized media, and what are his main issues with this trend? use examples from the web in the form of links. Include this idea of "disintermediation".

When Andrew Keen speaks of “democratized media” he means the disappearance of truth and the unreliability of web 2.0 in that it is less reliable. He feels that there is “a chaos of useless information.” (keen 16) HE feels that we are being misled by what is being put on the Internet and that it is an empty promise. The web is so filled with “personalized truths” (keen 17) that it is hard to differentiate between what is real and what is not.

The availability of free posting of information has made the internet an arduous use of sourcing. Anyone can free post now especially with websites like that of http://en.wikipedia.org.

2.   2)  Compare and Contrast Keens take on Social Media with Douglas Rushkoff's. What are these differences in opinion? Which one speaks to you and your own experiences and why? You may include the ideas of such utopian technophiles as Larry Lessig, Chris anderson, and Jimmy Wales (who are these guys!?)

Andrew Keen and Douglas Rushkoff definitely have different opinions when it comes to the web 2.0. Keen thinks of the internet as ignorant with the availability of free posting. He thinks that it is not necessarily benefiting our society but hurting it. Keen thinks of it more as lies than anything else. Although Rushkoff might agree with a lot of Andrew Keen’s ideas he thinks that web 2.0 is beneficial if used moderately. Rushkoff thinks that it is over used but is very important to today’s society.

         I definitely agree with both of point of views. I think that it is hard to find a reliable source on the Internet nowadays with the availability of free posting. I also agree that the Web is overused and is taking over society as a whole. But with the Internet our lifestyles have grown so much more and we are able to operate and grow closer so much more with this technology. At this point in my life I cannot imagine the internet not in it.