The Great Seduction Questions

1.       Some people may argue that democratized media is very beneficial. The exemption of the middle man in any circumstance gives the original publisher more credit or even more credibility in the craft.  What Andrew Keen is arguing, is the exact problem with this new revolution in media. Keen argues that democratized media is a “seduction, it’s promising…Digital economy will free us from old structure.” He is suggesting that it in a sense disinter mediates, makes traditional media more efficient and more truthful.  Everyone is able to publish themselves and by doing so people without any real expertise are able to create, distribute, market, and sell their products or ideas without any real certification or expertise of the middle man. There are two problems Keen sees with this; these are untrustworthy mediums, without any organizational structure or credible sponsorship and we don’t have a viable economy to support such an independent endeavor, it’s sort of like autonomy.

2.       Keen sees social media as something that defines us in the 21^st century, something that defines us as a society. Something people can look back on as a reference for how we existed in any point in time. With that being said, Andrew Keen suggests the main idea of Web 2.0 to be more of “superficial observations of the world around us rather than considered judgment.”  I believe that Rushkoff portrays that previous idea exactly. He explains the benefits of these mediums, like the fact that public schools in the Bronx are benefitting from the technology because it encourages them to want to learn. He also mentions how games like World of War Craft are connecting people all over the world. After analyzing such statements I can draw the conclusion that these people are severely addicted to the internet and all the mediums it has to offer. So by going back and applying Keens theory of social media, one could interpret that our society is solely fixated on the digital world and the shortcuts they offer. This would not be a positive or even admirable way to be perceived if one were to look back on our generation/society in the future.