I think the author missed the bigger point: we are all publishers now. The key innovation is not that people are writing more (or worse, or whatever) but that

I think the author missed the bigger point: we are all publishers now. The key innovation is not that people are writing more (or worse, or whatever) but that they are self-publishing it for all to see. Never before has it been so easy for someone to distribute their ill-advised random noodlings (or brilliant essays) unedited, to such a large potential audience. If a person's thoughts are crap when they speak, their audience is small (and limited in time), so the effects are small. If their thoughts are crap, and written down, and published widely: well, that's a different kettle of fish.