Cult Of The Amateur



I was feeling sad, so I went where I always go when I need an understanding ear: YouTube. There, I watched the Gregory Mantell show regarding the subject "Frenemies", which didn't do any good - it was virtually a parody of self-help California self-realization not-quite psychobabble.

Dissatisfied, I watched this other show regarding our debased media

User content is all the rage these days. But how good and how reliable is the content? Andrew Keen, author of "The Cult of the Amateur," says the do-it-yourself revolution is dumbing down society and undermining professionals.

Keen, in particular, decrys YouTube.

I didn't feel any happier watching this show, but I did feel a more-familiar emotion: irritation.

Almost everything Keen advocates is wrong. He is correct that the media needs gatekeepers but somehow fails to see that most of the media gatekeepers we have have been corrupted by money and political power. Better no gatekeepers at all, under those circumstances.

Long live YouTube!