I have been reading a couple of books that on the surface might seem contradictory. The first, “The End of Power”, argues that traditional institutions (government, major religious denominations, newspapers, unions, etc.) have lost respect, members, moral authority, etc. and the second, “The Internet is not the answer”, argues greater power is consolidating in fewer and fewer organizations (Amazon, Google, Apple, Comcast) and the consequences include great disparities in wealth and influence. The first appears to argue that power is becoming distributed to the point of anarchy and the second that power has become concentrated to the point of obliterating the middle class.
Trying to find a way to put these two positions together other than concluding the data referenced by one author or the other was fabricated has caused me some puzzlement. Here is one integrative position that occurs to me. I do not believe the author arguing the end of power focuses enough on the role of technology. Technology is not only disruptive to the powers that be, but technology has also proven to concentrate power/wealth across a broad collection of areas. Hence you have broad disruption and a narrow, but substantial accumulation. Perhaps these are interrelated rather than independent phenomena.
I recommend that edtech types read the book “The Internet is not the answer”. I make this suggestion because it appears the early potential of the Internet is not reflected in the current reality. How and why this has happened is the topic of this book. The problem as I see it is promoting edtech based on original promise rather than present reality. There is danger in naively encouraging practices without understanding the implications of these practices.
I will warn you about the Keen book. I think he plays on fears and he uses unnecessary tactics (e.g., contend Zuckerberg is autistic and cannot really understand social needs). However, the data and referencing seem fairly solid. Understanding how things work, even if this involves a different perspective on things familiar to you, can be helpful.