Is Web 2.0 really our "Cultural Downfall"?

Check out Library Journal's recent Online Databases column by Carol Tenopir - "Web 2.0: Our Cultural Downfall."

It's part review of Andrew Keen's new book, The Cult of the Amateur and part commentary on the whole 2.o topic. Here's a few snippets:

"Social networking and Web 2.0 may not be the total downfall of culture, but some of Keen's warnings hit home. Special interest groups, whether hate groups, political action committees, or corporations with a product to sell, can convey their message without revealing their true identity."

"The underlying message from Keen is buyer (or reader) beware. When anyone can add unfiltered, unvetted, and unattributed information to a growing array of social networking sites—sites some people rely on for their news or research—we have a dangerous dumbing-down of culture and a world where truth is hard to differentiate from falsehood ."

One of the important roles that libraries play in our culture is to help people find quality information that is relevant to their lives. How will 2.o change the way we do business? Is this really a new frontier for us, or have we always been helping our customers with information literacy - just in a different format?

We've spent two weeks looking at the definitions of Library 2.0. In light of what you've discovered in your quest toward Twopointopia - what do you think?

Go ahead, click that comment button...no one's looking.