Dave Winer, whose weblog software I use and who knows a thing or two about online community, is less impressed with Tom Friedman’s column of this past weekend than I am. He says:

Now with all due respect, they shouldn’t believe everything they read in the NY Times either.

Well, that’s certainly true enough. The thing is, Dave, what the Net helps do is put random content on the same footing as The Times. This is what terrifies Big Media, which has invested bazillions of dollars into establishing a trust equation with readers. Here’s what I wrote about that, nearly six years ago to the day (what — you thought this was a new issue?), in NetGuide:

The camcorder approach to information has its place, and is where a lot of the excitement about the net comes from. Always be asking yourself about what you’re reading and why it was put out there. And remember that good information always has a price.

What Friedman, Winer, and I are talking about is a subtle and complex issue. This is my full column, from the August 1996 issue of NetGuide, and I’ve seen no reason in the intervening years to change my mind.