Douglas Rushkoff response to Mark Pesce

I think the questions are meaningful (not necessary Amateur vs.
Professional, but highly qualified vs. unqualified) if the net
experience or the group experience actually changes our perception of
what matters.

Many new bloggers feel that they have the same ability as trained,
experienced journalists. Bloggers I have spoken with personally. And I
believe that their ability to differentiate between journalism and
public relations is still, at best, in process.

It's not a matter of some external agency "authorizing" the expert
(many great journalists have not gone to journalism school). It's more
a matter of the marketplace and audience losing the ability to
distinguish, because they feel so (perhaps falsely) empowered by their
newfound access to distribution.