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Great Seduction Question's

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.

The exact words Keen uses to explain democratized media are, “Media, information, knowledge, content, audience, author, - all were going to be democratized by Web 2.0. The internet would Democratize Big Experts, transforming them...” Basically Keen defines Democratized media as: The change in society that occurred through the use of Web 2.0. The creation of Web 2.0 revolutionized the way that people shared information. Thanks to sites such as Youtube, Google, blogs and Wikipedia for the first time amateur’s can publish whatever they want for anyone to read. According to Keen this eliminates experts because now anyone can be an expert. Keen has a problem with this because he feels amateurs are publishing incorrect information and therefore experts are necessary in society. Keen strongly believes that society is too heavily reliant on the Internet. He also thinks that the information put onto the Internet by amateurs is inaccurate but many people still believe it. The term, “I read it on the internet,” is becoming far too common. Not everything on the Internet is true but for some reason people believe that it is. To learn more about what Andrew Keen thinks visit his website: http://andrewkeen.typepad.com/home

2)    Compare and Contrast Keens take on Social Media with Douglas Rushkoff's. Which one speaks to you and your own experiences and why?

Both Keen and Rushkoff feel taken aback by the heavy use of Web 2.o in society.  The difference between the two is that although Douglas Rushkoff feels people are losing touch with themselves and relying to heavily on the internet and technology (always having to be “connected”) it seems to me that he still see’s certain positives in the use of this technology. On the other hand Keen seems to be totally against Web 2.0 and he seems to have absolutely no interest in trying to see the benefits that it can provide. I would relate more closely with Rushkoff because I too believe that most people are too connected with the Internet, but I certainly don’t think it is all bad. Lots of good comes from using the internet such as, sharing information quickly, communicating with family and friends via social networking sites, research is much easier to find (just check your sources!) and videos can be uploaded in seconds. I think that Keen is ignorant to ignore all the benefits of using Web 2.0. I also do not think the need for professionals is lost; most people trying to gather information search for articles from credible sites not just some random person’s blog. To learn more about what Douglas Rushkoff thinks visit: http://rushkoff.com/