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Will the real Dave Winer please stand up?

Started by mathewi · 1 year ago

So Dave Winer thinks Techmeme has become a “cesspool,” as he puts it. Why? He says it’s because of the Techmeme leaderboard, and how it’s encouraging people to say all kinds of things in an attempt to game the system. But I think Dave is just pis ... Continue reading »

13 comments

  • Tris Hussey

    1 year ago

    I agree Mathew. I read the post and just can't help tasting sour grapes.
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  • Dave Winer

    1 year ago

    Actually I used the tinyurls in a vain effort to not be linked into the chorus under the Official Definition of Web 3.0 piece. Contrary to what Mike says, I would have been happy if my piece hadn't been picked up on TechMeme at all, but in the end I'm happy to get the flow and the attention. I think the points I make need to be considered. I certainly have heard from a lot of people who support my point. How disappointing to see that Mike wants it censored, as if TM were Gabe's personal blog, and as if the top spot were his exclusive territory. Talk about throwing your weight around! And I've been waiting for a chance to say: With friends like this... Heh.

    Also consider that Calacanis's post may have been a dig at the Web 2.0 Summit, which is coming up the week after next. Jason and Mike both compete with it (they're having product showcases at Web 2.0 this year), so it's kind of tacky for them to be taking such cheap shots at a competitor. I don't know -- could just be me. And it may be that his piece was what it seemed to be -- another cheezy attempt to get people talking about his company.
    reply
  • Brian Clark

    1 year ago

    This is all so ridiculous, I can't believe any of you spend time on it.
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  • Tish Grier

    1 year ago

    I don't know...I find it all so very interesting.

    Yes, there are ways of "gaming" Techmeme--as there are ways of "gaming" pretty much everything (and, apparently, of denying folks "link juice".) Do you recall, M., when a whole bunch of people got *very* upset at the 2000 Bloggers meme, saying it was "gaming" Technorati and "inflating" everyone's linkage? Yet there are tons of splogs created daily that add to the link counts of high-traffic blogs (yes, I've checked this out.)

    Even Digg gets "gamed" by folks from various places that "digg" their own stuff. repeatedly.

    We probably should look at the Leaderboard as *just* a barometer of a *particular* communiy (and not the entire blogosphere) at a particular point in time. Case in point: The Feedster 500.
    reply
  • Mathew

    1 year ago

    Dave, I think your points might be more likely to be taken seriously if you didn't call Jason an "idiot who says idiotic things just to get attention." Just a hunch. But I will take your word on the tinyURL thing.

    And Tish, I think you are right -- anything that involves human beings can be "gamed" in some way.
    reply
  • Dave Winer

    1 year ago

    By who?
    reply
  • Bob Warfield

    1 year ago

    The leaderboard is only moderately interesting, gamed or not. What makes it there is so pasteurized and homogenized that it's just a double check that the real blogs you read might have missed something urgent, or at least interesting.

    What I want to access is all the stuff just off the edge of the leaderboard. It's in the dark, so it can't be gamed. Yet.

    More on my blog:

    http://smoothspan.wordpress.com/2007/10/01/the-...
    reply
  • Shelley

    1 year ago

    This is so bloody petty and embarrassing to even watch. Techmeme was a crap in the first place. Now, it's like taking crap, gold plating it, and calling it genius.

    How much do you think it would cost us all if we all chipped in and paid these people to go away?
    reply
  • engtech

    1 year ago

    I'll take reasons why I don't read TechMeme as often as my RSS feeds for $10.
    reply
  • Don Park

    1 year ago

    great mind
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  • engtech

    1 year ago

    (to be fair to techmeme, a large percentage of the blogs I subscribe to are the "edge" cases I discovered through TechMeme)
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  • patricia

    1 year ago

    I like Techmeme. I don't think it's the only place people are manipulating traffic. There are all kinds of tactics. Other online media is more than likely also guilty.

    I think this is going to become more transparent in the future. A recent report said advertisers are reluctant to spend money online because of the lack of metrics. If it holds true, metrics will probably quickly improve and narrow the gap where you can finesse page views, visitors, etc.
    reply
  • Marc Fiszman

    1 year ago

    These spats between tech "heavyweights" are pretty embarrassing sometimes. Dave, grow up and stop crying (in public) about how mean and yucky Calcanis is. If you've got issues with him, send him an email or something. (Or would you lose out on traffic if you did it that way?)

    It's just pathetic the way you lot do this stuff in public.

    (No offence, btw. Most of the stuff you write is top-notch.)
    reply

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