Under the title "Debate 2.0: Weighing the merits of the new Webocracy," today's San Francisco Chronicle carried a fascinating debate between Andrew Keen, author of the forthcoming Cult of the Amateur and Chris Anderson, author of The Long Tail. But of course you don't need to find a copy of the newspaper to read it. You can find it here or listen to it here and here. The discussion between Keen and Anderson puts the main issues dividing reactions to "consumer as creator" culture into sharp contrast.

It would have been nice to have had this discussion as a focal point in last year's Consumer as Creator seminar. It (the discussion) nicely highlighted issues having to do with perceptions of "quality" and cultural standards, when access to cultural production is opened up to broad communities of participants.