Feeding a troll

I have just been to see Andrew Keen and Richard Sambrook in discussion at The Frontline Club. Keen came across as sad. I don't mean that patronisingly. I was genuinely feeling melancholy on his behalf. He seems to see the worst in everything both the internet and the people who inhabit it. While saying he is not a conspiracy theorist he comes across as someone scared of something, maybe even himself .... His arguments are emotive and he clearly feels strongly but Richard gently pulled him apart by picking him up on his arguments and their many inconsistencies.

I regretted having paid to feed a troll.

[Added later in a comment]

He came across as someone who had seen an opportunity to piggy back on publicity being attracted by people who he was personally annoyed by. I didn't think his arguments were convincing and certainly didn't reflect the views of many of the people he was attacking most of whom I know personally.

He fell into the trap of seeing web 2.0 as a thing and one being driven in a certain direction. Those of us excited by the prospect of more people having a voice aren't anit-elitist - maybe more anti protectionist! He talked a lot about authority but this is the biggest weakness in his argument. Web 2.0 doesn't remove the need for authority it just distributes the way it is conferred more widely. Likewise it doesn't negate expertise or excellence it just widens the net as to where it might emerge.

As to the sadness this was just an impression I got from his demeanour. He swung from looking vulnerable to coming across as pretty nasty and sneering. Maybe what happens when you know you are pushing your luck and feel guilty about taking others for a ride?

[Lloyd puts it much better here]

Comments

[richard]

A possible reason why Keen may be sad ?

Not having read Keen's book, (but having recently bought it for a friend who loved it), I can't really speak first hand about his arguments, but I get the drift.

He's seems to get pretty bad press, and gets labeled elitist.

While my friend was right into the book, I happened to hear a radio program with three very competant speakers talking about the anti-elitist trends around the place. (podcast avaliable here) http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bigideas/stories/2007/2012152.htm

The sad part is that elite-bashing is the thin end of the wedge for totalitarian regimes. There are many examples from history where people with more than half a brain are suddenly and silently disappeared.

It will be a very sad place to live if the world of ideas is totally 'democratized', in the same way that democracy is pushed and promoted these days.

[Euan Semple]

He came across as someone who had seen an opportunity to piggy back on publicity being attracted by people who he was personally annoyed by. I didn't think his arguments were convincing and certainly didn't reflect the views of many of the people he was attacking most of whom I know personally.

He fell into the trap of seeing web 2.0 as a thing and one being driven in a certain direction. Those of us excited by the prospect of more people having a voice aren't anit-elitist - maybe more anti protectionist! He talked a lot about authority but this is the biggest weakness in his argument. Web 2.0 doesn't remove the need for authority it just distributes the way it is conferred more widely. Likewise it doesn't negate expertise or excellence it just widens the net as to where it might emerge.

As to the sadness this was just an impression I got from his demeanour. He swung from looking vulnerable to coming across as pretty nasty and sneering. Maybe what happens when you know you are pushing your luck and feel guilty about taking others for a ride?

[Matt Moore]

I find Keen annoying precisely because he is not a complete fool. He has some valid concerns about maintaining quality & expertise in complex world. But he so wants publicity & attention that his arguments lack balance & end up in some weird places.

His position is less elitist as it is conservative & nostalgic. "Everything was fine & dandy before the internet came along & ruined it".

There is always a market for conservatism & nostalgia - esp. in times of traumatic change.

Failed revolutionaries end up as the bitterest conservatives so who but an ex- dot.com entrepreneur to play internet party pooper?

[Michael Walsh]

Video online now:
http://www.frontlineclub.com/club_videoevents.php?event=907