Infothought: New Gatekeepers Are Still GATEKEEPERS

Infothought: New Gatekeepers Are Still GATEKEEPERS: ” A soft answer turneth away wrath. — Proverbs

Doc Searls, one of the nicest A-listers, writes a reply to one of my comments, in part:

… it pains me to think I’m being cruel without knowing it to a blogger who’s trying just as hard as I am – or maybe harder – to make sense of things. So, if that’s what I did with that post, my apologies to Tristan, Scott, Seth and anybody else who took offense.

Thank you. That’s very generous.

Here’s the problem:

I have this idea that the blogosphere is the one place in the world – or perhaps an entirely new world, or a part of a new world, created on the Net – where there is no need for class, for caste, for gates or keepers of anything.

Regrets. It’s not. Let’s stop right there. This is an idea that goes way back in a certain type of mythologizing – whether it’s called the Classless Society, The New Socialist Man, The Wild West, The Wide-Open Frontier, etc. – of a New Era where rank and privilege have been abolished, and all is based on individual merit. I wish it were true too. But sadly, wishing won’t make it so (and mistakenly believing it can get people deeply hurt in various ways).”

Comments are closed.