Comments on: No gatekeepers — just a bunch of turnstiles http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2006/01/20/no-gatekeepers-just-a-bunch-of-turnstiles/ ... at the intersection of media, technology, business and the web Thu, 04 Dec 2008 07:41:23 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Mathew http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2006/01/20/no-gatekeepers-just-a-bunch-of-turnstiles/#comment-208 Mathew Tue, 24 Jan 2006 00:47:33 +0000 http://www.mathewingram.com/work/index.php/2006/01/20/no-gatekeepers-just-a-bunch-of-turnstiles/#comment-208 I assume Seth and probably Jon would argue that "brand" in that sense is part of what turns people into "gatekeepers," which in turn makes them just as bad as the old media gatekeepers... I assume Seth and probably Jon would argue that “brand” in that sense is part of what turns people into “gatekeepers,” which in turn makes them just as bad as the old media gatekeepers…

]]> By: Stuart MacDonald http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2006/01/20/no-gatekeepers-just-a-bunch-of-turnstiles/#comment-206 Stuart MacDonald Tue, 24 Jan 2006 00:03:32 +0000 http://www.mathewingram.com/work/index.php/2006/01/20/no-gatekeepers-just-a-bunch-of-turnstiles/#comment-206 Not ganging up, 'thew. All good :-) And it's not like I am being inconsistent...I really do believe that the emergence of blogs and low-barrier publishing serves to further illustrate how valuable The Brand (aka the sum total of experience associated with a given "thing") is. Great discussion. -- Stuart Not ganging up, ‘thew. All good :-)

And it’s not like I am being inconsistent…I really do believe that the emergence of blogs and low-barrier publishing serves to further illustrate how valuable The Brand (aka the sum total of experience associated with a given “thing”) is.

Great discussion.

– Stuart

]]> By: Mathew http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2006/01/20/no-gatekeepers-just-a-bunch-of-turnstiles/#comment-197 Mathew Sat, 21 Jan 2006 23:56:59 +0000 http://www.mathewingram.com/work/index.php/2006/01/20/no-gatekeepers-just-a-bunch-of-turnstiles/#comment-197 No offense taken. I think it's an interesting question -- and I've read some of the stuff you've written on it in the past, as well as some of what Jon Garfinkel has written. I agree the signal vs. noise problem is a big one, and I certainly agree that it's worth talking about the barriers that exist. I would like to do what I can to lower them, and to seek out new voices -- that's part of why I'm doing this in the first place. No offense taken. I think it’s an interesting question — and I’ve read some of the stuff you’ve written on it in the past, as well as some of what Jon Garfinkel has written. I agree the signal vs. noise problem is a big one, and I certainly agree that it’s worth talking about the barriers that exist. I would like to do what I can to lower them, and to seek out new voices — that’s part of why I’m doing this in the first place.

]]> By: Seth Finkelstein http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2006/01/20/no-gatekeepers-just-a-bunch-of-turnstiles/#comment-196 Seth Finkelstein Sat, 21 Jan 2006 23:27:33 +0000 http://www.mathewingram.com/work/index.php/2006/01/20/no-gatekeepers-just-a-bunch-of-turnstiles/#comment-196 I would put it that the size of the barriers swamps any relative difference for most purposes. That is, if "old meda" chances are "one in a million" And "new media" chances are "two in a million". One could say "chances of success in new media are DOUBLE that of old media" - it would be true. But it would also be true that both chances are basically zero for many practical purposes. What commentators often miss, is that the lowered barrier to having material produced intrinsically raises the barrier to having it effectively distributed (getting heard over noise). So the net effect is pretty much exactly the same for almost everyone, in terms of facing barriers to entry. There's a very tiny subset of people who have overcome the distribution barrier, so they are utterly in love with the lowering of the production barrier - it's great for them. No offense intended. I discuss some of these issues myself e.g. this old blog post: http://sethf.com/infothought/blog/archives/000606.html I would put it that the size of the barriers swamps any relative difference for most purposes.

That is, if “old meda” chances are “one in a million”
And “new media” chances are “two in a million”.

One could say “chances of success in new media are DOUBLE that of old media” - it would be true. But it would also be true that both chances are basically zero for many practical purposes.

What commentators often miss, is that the lowered barrier to having material produced intrinsically raises the barrier to having it effectively distributed (getting heard over noise). So the net effect is pretty much exactly the same for almost everyone, in terms of facing barriers to entry. There’s a very tiny subset of people who have overcome the distribution barrier, so they are utterly in love with the lowering of the production barrier - it’s great for them.

No offense intended. I discuss some of these issues myself e.g. this old blog post:

http://sethf.com/infothought/blog/archives/000606.html

]]> By: Mathew http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2006/01/20/no-gatekeepers-just-a-bunch-of-turnstiles/#comment-195 Mathew Sat, 21 Jan 2006 23:10:48 +0000 http://www.mathewingram.com/work/index.php/2006/01/20/no-gatekeepers-just-a-bunch-of-turnstiles/#comment-195 Seth, I'm not saying the fact that I'm a newspaper columnist doesn't help (although it might also hurt). And I know there's a power-law effect in the blogosphere, as there is elsewhere. I would just argue, as I said before, that the barriers to entry are lower when it comes to "new media" than in "old media." Not that they don't exist at all, just that they are lower. And thanks for sending the link -- I will definitely read it. Seth, I’m not saying the fact that I’m a newspaper columnist doesn’t help (although it might also hurt). And I know there’s a power-law effect in the blogosphere, as there is elsewhere. I would just argue, as I said before, that the barriers to entry are lower when it comes to “new media” than in “old media.” Not that they don’t exist at all, just that they are lower. And thanks for sending the link — I will definitely read it.

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