Are online consumers killing online creativity? « Lee Simons, Bizmology

Perhaps the dark horse of this year’s SXSW Interactive conference: Andrew Keen stands apart among the droves of techies who, truth be told, are jockeying to consumerize their online wares. Entrepreneur, broadcaster, and writer of the 2007 tome Cult of the Amateur: How the Internet is killing our culture, Keen is not as stoked about the potential of online consumerism as everyone else here is.

Click to read more ...

The Contrast and Tension In Quality Between Online Aggregation and Original Content Explored - John Blossom

Quality is as quality does"may not be a saying that came out of Forrest Gump's mouth but it's a simple formula that seems to be proving itself on the Web as traditional sources of quality content lose audience share to search engines and social media sites. At the same time, though, the ever-increasing popularity of social media sites does not always seem to be balanced by mature quality control. But don't mistake immature techniques with inadequate potential: the techniques used to generate social media are carving out a new path to content quality that's here to stay. Professional publishers find themselves oftentimes railing against the Web as a devil's den of half-baked information and hailing the quality of their content. And, as underscored by ongoing issues with Wikipedia content quality and conflicts of interest, there are some real concerns out there in the world of user-generated content.

Click to read more ...