The Philosopher-Kings of Web 2.0

Digg, Wikipedia, and the myth of Web 2.0 democracy. - By Chris Wilson - Slate Magazine

In the era of user-generated content, a small elite in reality both produce and police the lion's share of web 2.0 content. In a gross mis-use of cultural references, are these "elite users" so different from Plato's philosopher kings? And does this create a meritocracy? Or merely a system based on seniority and time served? I recognize the dangers of such a potentially oligarchic system, but because elite users generally appear to act independently and without collusion, I am comfortable with the system as it stands. Direct democracy, after all, in my opinion is predicated on the assumption of informed participants. If the masses lean toward ignorance, then is it not better to have representatives? Granted in this case these "representatives" have seized power rather than proceeded through an electoral process.... but for now at least, I stand behind them.

PS: The term "lion's share" apparently comes down the ages to us from Aesop's fables.