Comments on: the time of the a-list is dead. thank christ. not a moment too soon.

By: Kristine

Kristine — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 02:55:33 +0000

You know, I never managed to get my head around that A-list thing. I have blogs I absolutely love because they’re good and they interest me, but A-list? I don’t really care, that’s certainly not why I’m blogging. So, to be honest, this very debate is beyond me, cause why should I care? Yours is one of the blogs I love, and there are plenty of exceptional must-read blogs out there, but a-list or not is certainly not the criteria

By: Mark Forman

Mark Forman — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 09:59:08 +0000

People need their gods and heroes-a basic tenet of human nature. It is also human nature to look at ratings in an environment that is new. Someone coming to the blogosphere has much greater chance of hearing about a Scoble or Searles than a lowly Forman.
Is this fair or accurate? What do metrics have to do with fairness or accuracy-it’s all crunching numbers baby. I appreciate quality content and being engaged.
The Twitter/Pownce snacks are OK but too much candy rots your teeth and can give you a stomach ache. Unfortunately that doesn’t mean blogs are a guaranteed Peter Luger steak dinner either.
So what method works? Trial and error is the bitter road to true knowledge and expertise. In my experience the most interesting bloggers or people for that matter are the ones with experiential knowledge on the matters of which they speak. The blog space is way to full of vain blog post regurgitation =knowledge =guru mentality.
So being interesting and engaging will always prevail, it’s just hard to do and that’s why there is always a handful of “planets” amongst a constellation of “stars.”

By: Mark Forman

Mark Forman — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 08:39:12 +0000

By: Tony C

Tony C — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 05:38:14 +0000

As an outsider to all this A-list, B-list, C-list blogging rubbish the fact that Hugh mentions it is a timely reminder that the internet is a fickle place and long may it remain so.
That people even think there is a hierarchy of bloggers, including people who should know better, means conventional thinking has taken over and the rot has set in, maybe social networking sites are the great much needed leveler.

By: TechBrew.net

TechBrew.net — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 00:56:19 +0000

No offense, but the notion of an A-list dying is rubbish. Celebrity and popularity are part of human nature, irritating or otherwise.
Time for a cartoon about A-listers who linkbait the demise of the A-list.

By: Evelyn Rodriguez

Evelyn Rodriguez — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 16:52:45 +0000

This all kinda reminds me of Terence McKenna’s rant as quoted below. Maybe A-List are the new icons
Specifically revelant to Facebook, Twitter, et al: “And what is real is you and your friends and your associations, your highs, your orgasms, your hopes, your plans, your fears.”:
(See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARIG-BQRATs)
“…catalyst to say what has never been said. To see what has never been seen. To draw, paint, sing, sculpt, dance and act what has never before been done. To push the envelope of creativity and language. And what’s really important is: I call it the ‘felt presence of direct experience’, which is a fancy term which just simply means we have to stop consuming our culture. We have to create culture. Don’t watch TV. Don’t read magazines. Don’t even listen to NPR. Create your own roadshow.
The nexus of space and time, where you are, now, is the most immediate sector of your universe. And if you’re worrying about Michael Jackson or Bill Clinton or somebody else, then you are disempowered. You’re giving it all away to icons. Icons which are maintained by an electronic medium so that, you know, you wanna dress like X or have lips like Y or something. This is shit brained, this kind of thinking.
That is all cultural diversion. And what is real is you and your friends and your associations, your highs, your orgasms, your hopes, your plans, your fears. And we are told ‘No’, we’re unimportant, we’re peripheral, get a degree, get a job, get a this, get a that — and then you’re a player. You don’t even want to play that game. You want to reclaim your mind and get it out of the hands of the cultural engineers who want to turn you into a half-baked moron consuming all this trash that’s being manufactured out of the bones of a dying world. Where is that at?”

By: Peter Ralph

Peter Ralph — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 10:30:05 +0000

I think there may be hundreds more like Pavlina — I stumbled across his site completely by accident. There just is no ranking of blogs by popoularity available.
here is another one-person blog that has only been up for 6 months and already gets more traffic than scoble:
http://icanhascheezburger.com/

By: Brian Brady

Brian Brady — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 09:41:54 +0000

“Who is steve pavlina? I’m not really sure all I know about him is that his blog gets over 2,000,000 hits per day and earns him close to $500,000 per year.”
I think I envy Steve. He flies below radar and is raking in cash.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 06:09:23 +0000

Blogging and the social networks, such as MyFace & Twitter, are structured to serve different purposes. As Vaspers says the networks are great for fast answers to quick questions and gossipy tidbits too. It’s easier to build community on a network than a blog platform.
Blogs allow for deeper explorations and conversations. Why an either or? There is application for both. Perhaps FB will add blogs a la MySpace. What I’d really like is a user friendly dashboard where I can keep track of all my social media tools in one place.
As for A-listers, people will gravitate to those who hold relevancy, even if that relevancy is a “cool factor.”

By: Tim Siedell

Tim Siedell — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 01:12:34 +0000

I understand what you’re saying; that it’s easier than ever to make connections, and the reliance on getting “vetted” has diminished. That’s good.
But the assumption is that we all want to collect friends or create the biggest possible social network. I think that’s backwards thinking.
I write to learn, to share, to grow. Would I like more people to read my blog? Sure. But it’s never been easier for potential readers to find me. I’ll get more readers by creating posts people want to read.
You’re right, people shouldn’t loiter around the blogosphere waiting for something to happen. They should be focused on creating truly excellent content. Connections will follow. And they’ll be stronger and better as a result.

By: Robert

Robert — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 01:06:06 +0000

Hugh,
Is this the point?
“…you’re far better off going off to somewhere like Facebook and building your own social network with like-minded folk, based on your own collective interests, your own collective passions and own collective sense of merit, than loitering around the Blogopshere, waiting for some rockstar like Scoble, Arrington, Cory etc to link to you… ”
I’m giving it a go but I don’t like these large supermarket networks.

By: vaspers the grate

vaspers the grate — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 00:54:54 +0000

I agree with you Hugh, that Twitter, Jaiku, Pownce, Ning are fracturing the blogosphere, and changing how we trust link and who we follow. The contrast between slow conventional blog conversations and the fast Twitter type channels is astonishing. Twitter type tools are more intimate, can be more trivial, but have great potential for promotions and non-commercial helping each other as pals. Fast answers to questions, quick sharing of links and files (Pownce), and enforced brevity of message: great advantages of the New Micro Blogging. http://twitter.com/vaspers http://pownce.com/vaspers

By: The Bruce

The Bruce — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 23:59:21 +0000

Ben mentions the downside of celebrity — the followers and their expectations that can be a drain.
Peter mentions the Pavlina phenomenon (and it is one for sure)and other stats that can drive you mad.
Statistics, statistics damn lies.
I do not how many of you have wondered at the methodologies employed to measure rank, popularity and the inside of your trouser leg. The only constant I have found in all my musing is the tailor and his tape.
All the others differ so now I ignore it as best I can. And I cannot because I am too darn ambitious and want to climb the ranking ladder. So what to do? What to do? Do I believe Technorati, Alexa, Google or Schmoogle?
Missy gives good comment and just wants to blog and that is it.
Me too but not the give good comment bit! But I also want someone to aspire to and herein lies the conumdrum. Kill A-List and aspiration plummets. Maintain/Revive A-List and aspiration rises. More blogs to read and learn things from and so can teach the kids.
OK I go for the latter.
Then we need to address social networks again and so it goes round and round and in the end Zeberdee tells Florence and Dougal it is time for bed and tomorrow can be a new day in blogosphere for new conversation.

By: MisssyM

MisssyM — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 22:28:41 +0000

I couldn’t care less who the A, B, C or Z list are. I read good blogs, I give comment on good blogs, I reply to all commenters, I vote for blogs I like irrespective of how long they’ve been blogging or who they are mates with.
I hate the clique mentality of some bloggers and the fact that if you’re not known then some people don’t reply to your comments. Isn’t life already too full of that crap– can’t blogging be free of it?
I have my own lovely readers and I don’t care which list they are on. If the A list is dead, then good! Whoever they were in the first place. Let’s kill all lists; let’s just blog!
Good post btw.

By: Peter Ralph

Peter Ralph — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 22:24:33 +0000

The technorati A-lists measure influence within the blogsphere to an extent. But they do not measure blog popularity.
Here are Alexa ranks for the popularity of some undisputed A listers
seth godin — 46,904
hugh mcleod — 32,517
robert scoble — 11,648
and here is the alexa rank for a blog that doesnt even make the C list:
steve pavlina — 5,058
Who is steve pavlina? I’m not really sure all I know about him is that his blog gets over 2,000,000 hits per day and earns him close to $500,000 per year.
I doubt he will be abandoning his blog for facebook any time soon.