[.ca] The Cult of the Amateur: How blogs, MySpace, YouTube, ... (ISBN 0385520816)

shrill and retrograde, too:
Mr. Keen is a strident opponent of the user participation that has been brought to us via the Web. As I read his polemic I could only think of the master of a scriptorium railing at the advent of printing or a farrier ruing the coming of the automobile. Moreover, his accusations are undocumented and the citations in his notes are second- and third-hand. If I want the words of T.H. Huxley (cited on p. 2), I do not want then via a translation of Borges. Many of his "accusations" -- e.g. that Lessig "laud\os\c the appropriation of intellectual property" (p. 24) -- are flatly untrue. There is one (trivial) reference to Eric S. Raymond; there are two to Tim O'Reilly; Tim Berners-Lee and Richard M. Stallman are MIA. If you need to burn a $20 bill; burn it. Don't bother buying this.

Controversial, yes... horrible? No...:
I'm part of the youth that grew up in the 90s and fully embraced the internet and this whole "amateur" revolution. I must admit, I was a fervent supporter of the whole "amateur" movement before I read this book. After reading it, well, let's just say I'm back to neutral ground. The book leans heavily towards the counter "amateur" movement (put the power to a select few and not on the general populace). While I agree with some of the points he made, I think instead of leaning heavily on the left or right side of this argument, we really should find some kind of balance if that's at all possible. Nonetheless, the book is captivating. I've read a ton of books similar in genre and they've been a tad preachy and devoid of any life. I really liked the book. Never bored me once. Makes you re-think about your stance.