Author, Critic

Andrew Keen is a British entrepreneur, academic and the founder of AfterTV and author of the book, The Cult of the Amateur (2007). Keen is a frequent critic of Internet culture, and of distributed or merit-driven online social economies, which he sees as inefficient and ultimately harmful to serious creative endeavors. Keen has written and lectured extensively, both in connection with The Cult of the Amateur, and generally, in regard to the effects of amateur content creation on Western culture. He blogs at his website, The Great Seduction, as well as for The Independent, to which he is a regular contributor in print as well as online. He has also written op-ed pieces for The Weekly Standard and The Guardian Unlimited, amongst other publications. Keen’s opinions have placed him at odds with other Internet and new media thinkers such as Kevin Kelly, and especially Lawrence Lessig. Follow him on Twitter @akeen