The positive spin is more fair and accurate. I didn't intent to come off so negative. Part of the reason I've kept reading and listening to Cory is because, as you note, he provides new ways of communicating arguments and it was interesting to see him work to direct this at a broad audience at the same time. For example, at the end of a long section talking about the fluidity between the roles of creator, investor, intermediaries, and audiences in the introduction he closes with: "...and some of the most dedicated audiences are made up of creators themselves (which is why authors are usually photographed standing in front of a wall of other people's books.)"

It's not fully represented in this quote, but when you read that closing line it instantaneously becomes obvious how blurry the lines have always been and how silly many of the distinctions truly are. We're talking about something bigger.