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August 13, 2007, 02:48 PM ET
Debating the Cultural Impact of the Internet
So now we know where Sir Elton John stands on the perennial topic of whether the Internet is killing our culture. (And where commenter "Marci" stands on the perennial topic of Sir Elton John.)
But there is a slightly more thoughtful conversation going on about this matter over at The Guardian Web site. A debate, actually, between Emily Bell, director of digital content for The Guardian, and Andrew Keen, one of the foremost critics of Web 2.0 — meaning collaborative online services and user-generated sites like Wikipedia.
Keen takes the position that "the internet is generally bad news for consumers and creators of culture as well as for our cultural economy."
While acknowledging that Keen's views may have growing currency, Bell is far more sanguine about the cultural impact of the Internet. She agrees that the Internet does open up the playing field to a lot of amateurish dross, but she accuses Keen of being scared because he knows that it is also full of people who are potentially as good as, if not better than, those who have been fortunate enough to make it past the "cultural gatekeepers."
Over at his blog, Keen admits to being humbled by the experience of going digitally toe-to-toe with Bell: "She outwitted me and then took me to the cleaners. My hunch is that I went in a bit cocky, stuck out my chin and got a good walloping. She's a tough bird, that Emily Bell. I'm not debating her again."—Evan Goldstein
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