The amorality of Web 2.0 by Nicholas Carr

I have just read, belatedly, an article by Nicholas Carr (here) on the amorality of web 2.0. Finally someone not only has the guts, but also the smarts to put into words what some of us have been thinking for quite a while. He states that the religious fervor with which people follow the web 2.0 bandwagon in hopes of transendance is misguided to say the least. Read it yourself, for he expresses it better than I ever could.

I agree with his conclusions on the amorality of web 2.0 and the fact that it contains many competitive and possibly destructive business models for existing business models. I do not think however that it will kill existing culture. That is not something a machine (as he calls it) can do. That can only be done by people. What we see in many western countries - a levitation of main stream culture towards the lowest common denominator - will happen in web 2.0. That is our sacrifice for living in a democracy. The only hope I nurture is that people will get 'first choice' through web 2.0. First choice meaning the choice that fits you, and not the one that is forced upon you through economies of scale. Amazon is a nice example; sixty percent of their sales are books outside their top 150.000. So there is hope for us yet!