February 13th, 2006
Rebooting My Brain
I can’t believe that whole ridiculous discussion about gatekeepers (in which I was a ridiculous participant) is still at the top of tech.memeorandum. Umair was right:
Ever since I’ve started using [memeorandum] to the point where it replaces many of my other sources, I have gotten stupider.
I can feel it - I don’t think as fast, flexibly, or freely.
This is a well-known phenomenon in psych and econ - I’ve been locking myself into a diet of reinforcing information. Nothing really challenges my beliefs, and so I get hyperpolarized, or echo-chambered, sure - but the deeper effect is that I also get stupid, fast.
I need to reboot my brain — I’m swearing off blogging about blogging, tech.memeorandum and the whole echo chamber thing (at least for a week — that’s step 1 in the 15-step program). I can’t promise I’ll be more insightful as a result, but at least I’ll be talking about something else.
UPDATE
I’m hopping off the wagon long enough to point to this New York Magazine article on The Blog Establishment, which gives a mainstream treatment to all of our navel-gazing.
UPDATE #2
I can’t believe linking to that New York article generated a link to this dopey post on tech.memeorandum — how suitably ironic. But that’s it! Don’t try to tempt me — I’m back on the wagon. Click on Publishing 2.0 in the header above and read my most recent posts (more to come) –> no temptation! Not one drop!
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Step 1? That’s
“We admitted we were powerless over [the A-list?] - that our lives had become unmanageable.”
“The fact is that most [bloggers], for reasons yet obscure, have lost the power of choice in [l]ink. Our so-called willpower becomes practically non-existent. We are unable, at certain times, to bring into our consciousness with sufficient force the memory of the suffering and humiliation of even a week or a month ago. We are without defense against the first [l]ink.”
I’m not sure that’s what you intended, but it does seem apropos.
(no offense meant to anyone who really participates in these programs)
Paul and Seth, I’d respond to you, but I’m determined not to fall off the wagon.
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It’s a powerful drug, though, isn’t it Scott? How long between your initial post and when you fell off the wagon — 10 minutes? An hour?
You won’t be able to resist, Scott. The moment I saw your reboot post earlier today, I thought…. oh no, abstinence will never work. The self-introspective, self-aware whirlpool isn’t over. Then I came back and saw your “UPDATE!” news flash about the NY Mag article. Couldn’t resist, huh?
I did my part by NOT reacting to anything for once and posting a picture of a cuttlefish. But then I wrote this comment. -sigh-
C’mon though. Isn’t the whole PROCESS interesting? Isn’t it worth discussing? For all the beating-a-dead-horse feelings about the blogosphere and the A-list, I’m not sure anybody understands any of it well enough to make predictions yet. So, if you have a lapse, I’ll forgive you. In fact, I look forward to it.
[…] 2348 Back in Reality Scott Karp says I can’t believe that whole ridiculous discussion about gatekeepers (in which I was a ridiculous participant) is still at the top of tech.memeorandum Then, in parting, he points to The Blog Establishment, also the cover story of the February 20 issue of New York magazine. There are five more related stories, mostly about the ’sphere’s caste system. There’s this one on “Linkology”, showing the Top 50 blogs, and how they interlink to each other. Think of those links as votes in an endless global popularity poll. Many blogs vote for each other: “blogrolling.” (And who was first to use that term, back in ‘00 or so?) I just scanned the rest, hoping I wouldn’t be mentioned. Alas, there’s this: ”You think the A-list is the A-list is the A-list,” says David Sifry, the CEO of Technorati. “But I’m telling you, boy, does it shift — and does it shift fast.” Cultural winds can drive blogs in and out of favor: When Sifry founded Technorati in 2002, many of the bloggers on his top-100-most-linked list were computer geeks, such as journalist Doc Searls and programmer Dave Winer. But as blogging grew to encompass politics and pop culture, Searls dropped to No. 96 and Winer to No. 126. But now Dave’s back up to #100. I’m at #93 (same as my age or IQ, I forget which). Maybe I can thank all this gatekeeper bullshit. Speaking of which, dig the little slider for gating the results. Works pretty well. And you know what’s cool? Some of the most interesting results come up with “any” or “a little” authority. Scoble: Well, it’s up to you now! You’re the gatekeeper! (Yes, I know it’s more complicated than that. But I’m in a hurry to leave.) Aw shoot, I notice Dave Winer isn’t mentioned in A Timeline of the History of Blogging. Political and pop cultural selectivity, I guess. Anyway, New York, enjoy the snow, dudes. It hit 81 degrees here today. The kid and I are going out to the pool to have some fun. Light weather ”Seattle chill” explained. Thanks to Dean Landsman for the link. That’s legal in Texas, right? There is actually a story in the New York Times with this line: Mr. Cheney, a practiced hunter, shot the lawyer, Harry Whittington, on an outing at the Armstrong Ranch in South Texas. […]
a NY Times Reporter (Really) New news Newspapers Responsible for Only 5% of New Hires Newspaper Takes Dim View of Craigslist Lawsuit Guns don’t hurt people, vice presidents do Rebooting My Brain links for 2006-02-13 ABCNews.com redesigns Office Pirates set for launch
[…] Er moet me iets van het hart: eigenlijk ben ik meer geinteresseerd in lezen over schrijven dan in het schrijven zelf. Je kan een mooie parrallel trekken naar de ontwikkeling die momenteel gaande is op blog-gebied: steeds meer mensen maken het bloggen over bloggen tot hun hoofdbezigheid. Dit gebeurt zoveel dat er zelfs een term is uitgedacht om deze bezigheid te omschrijven: metablogging. Scott Karp, schrijver van Publishing 2.0, betrapte zichzelf er onlangs op en besloot het vervolgens af te zweren. […]