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I think part of the beef with new uses for words like this is that it degrades the original meaning, despite the fact that the original meaning is still useful. I think most people would not have an issue with "cool" meaning excellent/trendy etc. because the context would not generally let people confuse it with the original meaning of "a bit cold"; however, when you repurpose words in a similar function to their original meaning you risk impoverishing the language by losing the old meaning. For example, "disinterested" is a really useful word to describe what a judge or referee should be i.e., unbiased (roughly), but it's misused so often now (when people actually mean "uninterested") that fewer and fewer people know that really useful original meaning.
The fact that this process inevitably carries on, doesn't mean that we shouldn't try to counter it.
ffm-
I don't know how many different ways I can try to explain that there isn't really a new meaning in my view. The way it's used only works because it's an obvious exaggeration - this perceived misuse is a very purposeful use of a rhetorical figure. (Of course, many people using 'literally' in this way are not even aware of that, but it doesn't change the fact that this is why it works)
As I said before, 'literally' still does not mean 'figuratively' at all: saying "this literally blew me away" carries a very different emotional connotation from saying "this figuratively blew me away".
(Oh, and if it ever does carry the exact same meaning, people will stop using it, same as almost no one would actually use 'figuratively' in that sentence.)
I understand the quest for precision in language, but this is just an overly literal (ha ha) interpretation of 'specific words have specific meanings'.
SwissChap
That's not really how this works. 'Literally' really still means the same, and it will only be used the way you complain about as long as it does - ironically, it's the people moaning about its hyperbolic use that have made this a recognised 'issue' and lead to people believing it has actually changed meaning. When this word really no longer means 'in a literal sense', it will have outlived its usefulness to express hyperbole and people will move on to another word.
Or more succinctly - using 'literally' to create a hyperbolic statement does not mean that it now also means 'figuratively': it only works because it doesn't. There is a very big difference between saying "literally blown away" and "figuratively blown away".