Ambivalent_Fanatic

There's been a very popular thread in /r/books today saying that people who self-publish their own books or e-books have no right to call themselves published, and that they are attempting to glorify themselves by doing so. Other people say that traditional publishers have acted as they gatekeeper for too long, and have an inflated sense of their own importance. Do you think that the publishing industry is actually changing because of the self-publishing and e-books revolutions, or do you think that we are just seeing a lot more dreck?

Just today I was having a "conversation" with some people about the difference between customer comments on Amazon.com about a book and critical reviews of the same book. I maintain that critics play an important part in our culture and that their opinions are in every way superior to those of the average joe who can write whatever he likes about a book. Other people say that I'm a snob, and that they get far more use out of customer comments than they do out of critical reviews.

So, can I ask you, in your own words, what is the role of a literary critic in our society?