Is Web 2.0 “Fucked”? Andrew Keen Says So…
To be honest, I didn’t know who this man was and I didn’t know what to expect before hearing what he had to say at the Amsterdam Next Web 2009 and a lot of what he says makes sense.
Andrew Keen argues that the future of the internet is a mixture of digital fascism and feudalism with huge inequality of power, that is manifested by web 2.0 tools such as Facebook and Twitter.
In other words he says that we have been tricked into believing that the power of communication and branding has been handed back to individuals, something most web 2.0 guru’s and some marketing professionals tout as the future of the internet and communication. He argues that the power of mass communication has instead been handed to the few individuals who are “talented” enough to be followed, rather than follow on mass.
He believes this is potentially worse than being force fed messages via traditional mediums.
I agree with a lot he has to say, however I would choose to follow some people I admire and trust than have messages forced down my throat by large corporations with blank cheques and the latest marketing strategies.
<p>Andrew Keen: Web 2.0 Is Fucked (The Next Web 2009) from Robin Wauters on Vimeo.</p>
Web 2.0 is a scary prospect for corporations and marketers alike. Agency business model’s will need to be re-structured, they can no longer sell television campaigns, useless corporate websites and magazine inserts like they used to. They can’t rely on this business model that has been so lucrative for the last 50 years.
Communication has been handed back to individuals and web 2.0 guru’s whether we like it or not. There is no point in arguing that it is “Fucked”, the truth is that it is here to stay and unless we learn how to use it to our advantage and monetize it, the advertising industry is dead.
That is a fairly ominous statement, and right now it is not realistic, but in time it is. I liken the advertising industry in 2009 to the music industry in 1999. The equivalent of Napster has been released, what are we going to do about it? Are we going to make the same mistake as the music industry? Ignore the medium, pretend it doesn’t exist, close our eyes, block our ears and use the famous industry ego to assure ourselves that everything will be alright, or are we going to do something about it and learn how to use it and more importantly monetize it?
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