This book, which grew out of a controversial essay published last year by The Weekly Standard, is a shrewdly argued jeremiad against the digerati effort to dethrone cultural and political gatekeepers and replace experts with the “wisdom of the crowd.”
...Whereas historians and journalists traditionally strived to deliver the best available truth possible, many bloggers revel in their own subjectivity...
This guy manages to combine two of my favorite categories, "We're the Only Ones" and "authorized journalists," into one obnoxious and elitist screed.
The purpose, Mr. Keen, of having "political gatekeepers" is to keep out those you wish to exclude. We've had enough of media bias and "historians" bent on changing the past to suit a present agenda.
Revolutions tend to get a bit messy, a lesson the elites never seem to learn as they continue to prod and provoke. The demand for a new type of information has been created because your elite stewards have done such a miserable job with the trust they were given, Mr. Keen.
If you think blogs are propaganda vehicles, you ought to take a look at some of the pamphlets produced by "rabble" from our Founding Era. And as for "informed debate becoming more difficult," I'll put this one-man-operation blog up against the mighty New York Times any day of the week when it comes to providing both broad and in-depth accurate coverage of what's really happening on the RKBA scene--even with my obvious predispositions.
Does that mean there's not a lot of amateurish junk out there in "Web 2.0"? Of course there is, but guess what--the people who take it upon themselves to get and stay informed develop pretty good instincts when it comes to divining the truth of things. And working in real time, without a net, can be a pretty unforgiving environment for anyone discovered propagating falsehoods or unreliable information. Reputation is everything, and the type of readers I get aren't too inclined to forgive someone they've caught trying to play them--because they expect the same standards they hold themselves to. And it's not like your precious gatekeepers don't put out a lot of trash for the masses.
Ultimately though, it boils down to this is "costing us a fortune," doesn't it? Hey, what can I say? The environment changes--it's been doing that since the Dawn of Time. Adapt or die out.
Keen is keen on oligarchy, that principle of rule that has produced such misery throughout the ages. He doesn't get that our system is supposed to be one of self government--he doesn't trust that we are wise or capable or competent enough to be given free choices--which is really what the struggle for liberty is all about. He evidently believes our only real purpose is to feed the beast, that is, to assume our traditional role of serfs under the benign rule of philosopher kings.
We threw that yoke off once and may be on the cusp of doing it again. And that scares the hell out of certain people like Mr. Keen--and those he speaks for--who are starting to sense the winds of change.
[Via D.W. Lawson]
4 comments:
"...and replace experts with the “wisdom of the crowd.”
And here I am wondering why economics is still the branch of science with the least acceptance. It's not so much "wisdom" as it is a large number of people at work and the increasing probabilities that something beneficial will come of it.
What the "crowd" can do that a centralized, insulated group of elites will never accomplish is to divide an enormous task among many, each of which may have a particular area of specialization. There is folly in the expectation that a specially chosen minority can contain a body of knowledge as large or diverse.
While there may be a high signal-to-noise ratio from the "crowd", is that any different -- in terms of quality of information -- from the ignorati who regularly report on "bullet tips" and "shell casings"?
Example:
http://waronguns.blogspot.com/2007/08/magic-bullets.html
The story and photograph is obviously a hoax, and like many other hoaxes mindlessly relayed by the media, it should never have made it to print.
Since Mr. Keen is one of the gatekeepers of knowledge, perhaps he is also authorized to dispense information on the use of regular expressions and Perl. I sure could have used his sage advice earlier this week, when I produced some code that I should have known had an increasing probability of malfunctioning with increasing amounts of data filtered through it. Perhaps I'll e-mail him and ask his opinion.
Mr. Keen is enjoying a benefit of being an authorized journalist. I wonder if this will be contained in his next essay? You see, because he is one of the elites, his rambling diatribe receives free promotion in the New York Times. A benefit that the author of this website would likely not enjoy were he to publish a book.
Excellent analysis, TJH--and thanks for reminding me about the "magic bullets"--I'd intended to include a link to that but realized I'd forgotten to do so after I read your comment. Fixed now.
tjh said,"Example:
http://waronguns.blogspot.com/2007/08/magic-bullets.html
The story and photograph is obviously a hoax, and like many other hoaxes mindlessly relayed by the media, it should never have made it to print."
Wrong, it most certainly should have made it to print. It just should have made it to print honestly. It should have been exposed for the hoax it was and held up as an example how our enemies try to game the system with propaganda.
That it was not done so,and that this particular piece of propaganda is laughably inept, yet still printed as the truth reveals the true agenda of the so called gate keepers. They are working for our demise. That can be their only goal, despite their protestations to the contrary.
There is plenty of room within the facts for differences of opinion. However the mainstream media finds it not adequate for their agenda, so they print as truth; lies and implausibilities that reach all the way to impossibilities.
It is far too generous to attribute what they do to ignorance. It is not ignorance, it is aid and comfort to the enemy willingly given.
You're right. I stand corrected.
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