rebel in cyberspace?

And now for a refreshing look at the problems associated with crowd sourcing. And this time through the lens of a seriously bad-ass cyber-freak: Jaron Lanier. Coming to us via the New York Times, Monsieur Lanier suggests that the “wisdom of the crowd” isn’t always as wise as it might appear. In fact, crowd sourcing can be little more than a bad mash-up of lame ideas. Where’s the beef?

You have to admire a Cyber Guru willing to state the obvious – “pop culture has entered into a nostalgic malaise.” Jimmy Carter would be proud. How about this for a fun idea: “…the new collectivist ethos — embodied by everything from Wikipedia to ‘American Idol’ to Google searches — diminishes the importance and uniqueness of the individual voice, and that the ‘hive mind’ can easily lead to mob rule.” Ahoy!

Lanier has a new book out – You Are Not a Gadget.

I’m off to the local bookstore before some gadget nerds pull off a mash-up of Lanier’s tome on YouBoob.

posted by Mudd