Blogging A-list upset web democracy

Here's an interesting piece that contrasts theory and practice in the digital age as media companies go trawling for Web 2.0 acquisitions. John Gapper points to the gap between the democratic rhetoric (or "digital Maoism") employed by enthusiasts for the new order and the "relatively small number of activists [who] often dominate proceedings" across the web. Though unpaid, he says "they can nonetheless achieve an elite status reminiscent of the old media's professional gatekeepers." He quotes technology writer Nicholas Carr who believes the activities of an "A-list" of bloggers "contradict a lot of the assumptions promulgated about the great egalitarianism of the web". (Via FT.com)