Howard Rheingold, author of Smart Mobs, discusses the history of the debate between the cultured elite and the unwashed masses on who gets to participate in the creation of the culture and the media. He calls it a “microsyllabus” and it does indeed play like one… perhaps it’s used as a primer on a course in Participatory Democracy in the Digital Era. Great if you’re in the mood for a 15 minute lecture from a good natured intellectual.