| Andrew Keen is an entrepreneur and author. He is particularly known for his view that the Internet and Web 2.0 may be debasing culture. Keen is especially concerned that the Internet undermines the authority of learned experts. In 2006 in an essay in The Weekly Standard, Keen wrote that Web 2.0 is a "grand utopian movement" similar to "communist society" as described by Karl Marx. He describes Free Culture proponent Lawrence Lessig as an "intellectual property communist". His book The Cult of the Amateur, is critical of free, user-based Web sites such as Wikipedia that attempt to provide information. Keen discusses often-overlooked problems with participatory technology and describes the Internet as a mirror of our culture. "We see irreverence, and vitality, and excitement. We see a youthfulness. But we also see, I think, many of the worst developments in modern cultural life, and, in particular, I think we see what I call digital narcissism, this embrace of the self." In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and ... |
