Are Yahoo Answers and other Web 2.0 communities eroding real knowledge and scholarship?

I am currently reading a book that is called "The Cult of the Amateur". It is written by an ex silicon valley insider and has an extremely interesting take on the proliferation of amateur advice and information.





He claims that the current web communities that do not put any weight into credentials or fact checking are putting forth an irreparable amount of misinformation. Because there is no accountability on the website none of the rules of good writing or journalism need apply to the writers.





Also the commentary on the news and other events has so overshadowed the actual news and primary pieces of literature that they are losing sales. If the trend continues eventually secondary commentary will actually bankrupt the source of its news.





Personally, do you think that communities for and by amateurs, yahoo answers, wikipedia, blogs, are eroding knowledge, truth, and traditional media sources?

Are Yahoo Answers and other Web 2.0 communities eroding real knowledge and scholarship?
Knowledge cannot be eroded, merely forgotten, or untapped.





Good argument for the credentialed, schooled and privileged.





Begs to ask, "so there is no knowledge that can come from someone without a piece of paper, from another person, saying they know what they are speaking about, and you do not?"





That said, I dislike talkers who obviously don't know what they are talking about. In my case if I don't know, I don't try to pretend. I ask questions of those who are educated or are doing the thing discussed.
Reply:I agree. It's unfortunate that people are growing up thinking that this is the proper way of things. I personally think it's good for so many ways for people to express themselves, but when no one understands the difference between fact and opinion any longer, what then?
Reply:pls i don't no this .
Reply:helping to rid the world of Republicans
Reply:The basic formula for transferring knowledge is:





tranmission + absorption = transfer





The success of this model is affected by factors such as: relationships, production, diffusion, and engagement.





Truth can never be eroded because it exists for what it is. Newspapers and publications were blamed for this sort of thing before hence the saying 'don't believe everything you read'. If someone does believe something they have read without researching it then that person has neither gained nor lost knowledge, he/she has simply conceded to allow other to think on his/her behalf.





Governments and business don't make decisions based on one or two blogs so the need for qualified (verifiable) and quantified academic research will always be there.