Economist Magazine Survey of New Media

The Economist has published an important survey of new media in its latest issue, which considers the phenomenon of wikis and even briefly touches upon folksonomy. The survey touches upon the struggles between old and new media, which is really a struggle between content that is pre-packaged for a mass audience and content created on a grass-roots level by dedicated people (such as this very blog.)

The magazine--which has a fair reputation for being somewhat stuffy--actually takes a positive view of the potential for new ways to create and share intellectual work. Of note for librarians--There's no discussion of our role in this emerging media landscape. Rather than seeing it as an insult, perhaps this is an opportunity to raise awareness about the important work librarians do.