It seems very plausible that this theory could be true in this "Web 2.0" era.
Mike S
· 2 years ago
Excellent analysis. I do not think it could be put any better.
Phil Butler
· 2 years ago
Superb, and I seldom use that word Pete.
Nothing more can be added, that is rare.
Roachcoach
· 2 years ago
Duh. I love athe NYT explaining the obvious, but rather than uplift success they try to demean it. "Hey the masses didn't get it right, it was rigged by a small group of powerful friends." Considering this goes against the NYT's best interest as the sole leader in what's important (for a profit I migh add) no wonder they're not down with success stories such as Digg. Hey, power to the few is better than the many, right NYT. They'd hired Paul Krugman... need I say more.
Dave
· 2 years ago
I totally agree, Web 2.0 has become the "in crowd 1.0"
James
· 2 years ago
I tend to disagree. Let's look at myspace... didn't it start out for bands in california? then it spread and now we all use it. so that doesn't necessarily mean that digg.com will always remain JUST for geeks.
Pete Cashmore
· 2 years ago
James,
Hmm...so you're saying they invited non-technical white middle-class Americans who like music, and the whole network is now full of...non-technical white middle-class Americans who like music? ;)
Also, don't forget that MS invited over a million users from a dating site run by the same company.
Ilya Berelson
· 2 years ago
Myspace started out with bands but who listens to the music, all of us. Musicians market to their fans, So there you go.
Digg is different, the prescence of geeks makes the promoninence of geek related stories rise to the top, other communities simply will not prosper because when they login to the front page of digg they will see a one sided view of what it is. In Myspace, this effect is completley not present because of social clusters where there is no direct correlation to myspace the band network when you are logging into your account and your world is directed by you and your friends.
Phil Butler
· 2 years ago
This is good. I am not sure that we are doing justice to true geeks by classifying what often gets to the top of digg as either news or fodder for geeks.
The "moo cow" mentality that has driven the Myspace engine is exactly the same variable that Pete described. Sure, some traditional media and ads go there to turn that barn into Walmart online, but when is the excellence going to arrive?
Somehow I did not expect our voyage into Web 2. whatever to be primarily focused on carnival type dog and pony shows. Maybe time for act two.
Hashim
· 2 years ago
Wired is a victim of groupthink just like Digg is. What's the difference, and what's the danger?
Pete Cashmore
· 2 years ago
Hashim,
In what way?
Frank
· 2 years ago
Cumulative advantage?
During the late 90's, we spent all our time talking about Ebay's network effects. Cumulative advantage seems like the same idea, just with pejorative connotations.
All Comments
http://higheredchat.blogspot.com/2007/04/digg-i...
Nothing more can be added, that is rare.
Hmm...so you're saying they invited non-technical white middle-class Americans who like music, and the whole network is now full of...non-technical white middle-class Americans who like music? ;)
Also, don't forget that MS invited over a million users from a dating site run by the same company.
Digg is different, the prescence of geeks makes the promoninence of geek related stories rise to the top, other communities simply will not prosper because when they login to the front page of digg they will see a one sided view of what it is. In Myspace, this effect is completley not present because of social clusters where there is no direct correlation to myspace the band network when you are logging into your account and your world is directed by you and your friends.
The "moo cow" mentality that has driven the Myspace engine is exactly the same variable that Pete described. Sure, some traditional media and ads go there to turn that barn into Walmart online, but when is the excellence going to arrive?
Somehow I did not expect our voyage into Web 2. whatever to be primarily focused on carnival type dog and pony shows. Maybe time for act two.
In what way?
During the late 90's, we spent all our time talking about Ebay's network effects. Cumulative advantage seems like the same idea, just with pejorative connotations.