Comments on: Techmeme and the “A-list” canard http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2008/05/05/techmeme-and-the-a-list-canard/ ... at the intersection of media, technology, business and the web Sat, 20 Mar 2010 12:14:38 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9 hourly 1 By: Seth Finkelstein http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2008/05/05/techmeme-and-the-a-list-canard/comment-page-1/#comment-374563 Seth Finkelstein Tue, 06 May 2008 05:21:30 +0000 http://www.mathewingram.com/work/?p=2395#comment-374563 Aye Carumba!<br><br>By "except in a trivial way", I meant you could give it a meaning where it was true, but that meaning would be trivial, depending on what you meant by "plenty of room". There are almost by definition few <em>high attention</em> slots, but it would likely be said to mean something like "lots of chances to win the (attention) lottery" (even though very few people do win), and that's what I'd mean by trivial.<br><br>The idea of the comparison is how one could construct similar spurious reasoning to "prove" the MSM is open, democratic, anyone can break-in (pointing to the few people who do), etc.<br><br>Oh, have another link:<br><br>Shelley Powers: "Guys Don't Link"<br><br><a href="http://burningbird.net/connecting/guys-dont-link/" rel="nofollow">http://burningbird.net/connecting/guys-dont-link/</a> Aye Carumba!

By “except in a trivial way”, I meant you could give it a meaning where it was true, but that meaning would be trivial, depending on what you meant by “plenty of room”. There are almost by definition few high attention slots, but it would likely be said to mean something like “lots of chances to win the (attention) lottery” (even though very few people do win), and that's what I'd mean by trivial.

The idea of the comparison is how one could construct similar spurious reasoning to “prove” the MSM is open, democratic, anyone can break-in (pointing to the few people who do), etc.

Oh, have another link:

Shelley Powers: “Guys Don't Link”

http://burningbird.net/connecting/guys-dont-link/

]]> By: Scobleizer http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2008/05/05/techmeme-and-the-a-list-canard/comment-page-1/#comment-374558 Scobleizer Tue, 06 May 2008 05:19:51 +0000 http://www.mathewingram.com/work/?p=2395#comment-374558 I'm rediscovering all sorts of things since Louis came along. Heheh. If I cared about stuff like this I'd drive myself nuts. I love that Yuvi is getting more attention. The dude is smart. I'm rediscovering all sorts of things since Louis came along. Heheh. If I cared about stuff like this I'd drive myself nuts. I love that Yuvi is getting more attention. The dude is smart.

]]> By: mathewi http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2008/05/05/techmeme-and-the-a-list-canard/comment-page-1/#comment-374562 mathewi Tue, 06 May 2008 05:06:04 +0000 http://www.mathewingram.com/work/?p=2395#comment-374562 First of all, saying that it's false "except in a trivial way" means<br>that it's true, but you think the parts that are true are trivial. I<br>disagree. And secondly, your comparison to blogs and being quoted in<br>the mainstream media is ridiculous. I reject it on the grounds that<br>it is irrelevant, incorrect and -- most of all -- boring. First of all, saying that it's false “except in a trivial way” means
that it's true, but you think the parts that are true are trivial. I
disagree. And secondly, your comparison to blogs and being quoted in
the mainstream media is ridiculous. I reject it on the grounds that
it is irrelevant, incorrect and — most of all — boring.

]]> By: Seth Finkelstein http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2008/05/05/techmeme-and-the-a-list-canard/comment-page-1/#comment-374561 Seth Finkelstein Tue, 06 May 2008 04:57:26 +0000 http://www.mathewingram.com/work/?p=2395#comment-374561 Don't have a cow, man.<br><br>I would in fact claim your statement ("content from unknowns") is false, except in a trivial way. That is, blog-evangelists don't say: "With all the newspapers and trade-journals being published, with all the 24/7 news programs, there is still plenty of room for content from unknowns or little-knowns to emerge and be recognized in the mainstream media - and look, x% of people quoted or sound-bited come from The Long Tale!"<br><br>Have another link:<br><br>Nick Carr: "The Great Unread"<br><br><a href="http://www.roughtype.com/archives/2006/08/the_great_unrea.php" rel="nofollow">http://www.roughtype.com/archives/2006/08/the_g...</a> Don't have a cow, man.

I would in fact claim your statement (“content from unknowns”) is false, except in a trivial way. That is, blog-evangelists don't say: “With all the newspapers and trade-journals being published, with all the 24/7 news programs, there is still plenty of room for content from unknowns or little-knowns to emerge and be recognized in the mainstream media – and look, x% of people quoted or sound-bited come from The Long Tale!”

Have another link:

Nick Carr: “The Great Unread”

http://www.roughtype.com/archives/2006/08/the_g...

]]> By: mathewi http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2008/05/05/techmeme-and-the-a-list-canard/comment-page-1/#comment-374560 mathewi Tue, 06 May 2008 04:34:03 +0000 http://www.mathewingram.com/work/?p=2395#comment-374560 Thanks as usual, Seth -- although the "bah, humbug" routine is getting<br>a little old, don't you think? Time for some new material.<br>Obviously, none of this is to say that there aren't "gatekeepers" or<br>whatever terminology you want to use -- I've admitted that countless<br>times in similar posts. My point is that there is still plenty of<br>room for content from unknowns or little-knowns to emerge and be<br>recognized. That's good, isn't it? Thanks as usual, Seth — although the “bah, humbug” routine is getting
a little old, don't you think? Time for some new material.
Obviously, none of this is to say that there aren't “gatekeepers” or
whatever terminology you want to use — I've admitted that countless
times in similar posts. My point is that there is still plenty of
room for content from unknowns or little-knowns to emerge and be
recognized. That's good, isn't it?

]]>