April 24, 2002

8:15 AM

Has anyone noticed that more and more Metafilter threads can basically be guaranteed to reflect Blogdex? I guess it's to be expected, but for some reason the predictability irks me.
posted by jeremias to MetaFilter-related at 8:15 AM (16 comments total)

it seems like it's always been this way, jeremias. both sites link to memes.
posted by moz at 8:57 AM on April 24, 2002

which comes first, though? Some might say that Blogdex reflects Metafilter.
posted by crunchland at 9:24 AM on April 24, 2002

The posting guidelines say a good post "is something that meets the following criteria: most people haven't seen it before, there is something interesting about the content on the page, and it might warrant discussion from others." Despite the "and" in there (instead of an "or"), it's generally understood that you can skimp on one of the three: an interesting, obscure post which will not be particularly condusive to discussion; an well-known but interesting issue that will get a lot of discussion; a link to an uninteresting page on an obscure subject that will foster a lot of debate.

The problem (IMO) with these "wacky news" links is that they tend to be missing two or even three of the criteria. In this particular case, the photo, while interesting, has been seen by everyone who visits any weblogs aside from MeFi and doesn't really warrent discussion. Ditto for just about anything lifted from The Obscure Store.
posted by Shadowkeeper at 10:21 AM on April 24, 2002

On the one hand I agree, in that it's a big internet out there, and the lack of effort some people seem to give their posts is a drag, but on the other hand, this community has it's own sort of voice, and I understand the impulse to run these things past the people here.

That said, I mostly skip right past `em. Zzzzzzzzzz.
posted by dong_resin at 10:38 AM on April 24, 2002

I hate to be a spoilsport but I'm not only with Shadowkeeper, I wish it wasn't "generally understood" you could skimp on one of the three. The requirements for a good post are clear and aren't that hard to follow - every day there are about four posts that fulfill all three.

Btw, in Sk's three examples, I'd say the first(an interesting obscure post not particularly conducive to discussion)is a good post, as its results are covered by the "might warrant discussion" proviso.

Is it "generally understood", though, that you can skimp on one of the three?

I wish people would have to check those three boxes before being able to post:
1)most people haven't seen this
2)there's something interesting about the content
3)it might warrant discussion from others

In fact, the first requirement alone would probably be enough as, almost by definition, posters think there's something interesting and that it might warrant discussion.
"Most people" would have to be qualified, to avoid the old "most people don't have time to read X,Y,Z" excuse, which can be used to justify even the most popular sources.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 10:41 AM on April 24, 2002

which comes first, though? Some might say that Blogdex reflects Metafilter.

Personally, I think this is more the case. I check Blogdex every day and tend to notice common links popping up on Blogdex the day after they appear on MetaFilter. It was interesting to note, for instance, that during The Day Without MetaFilter most of the stuff in Blogdex's index was MeFi material from a couple of days ago.
posted by briank at 10:44 AM on April 24, 2002

The Day Without MetaFilter

Those for words, capitalized as such, speak volumes. Do I hear a novel idea?
posted by adampsyche at 10:48 AM on April 24, 2002

I meant "four."
posted by adampsyche at 10:48 AM on April 24, 2002

I think sawks summed it all up quite nicely. I think it would be interesting to match the popularity and timing of links on Blogdex to posts on Metafilter, starting tomorrow maybe. Just for kicks.

Also, I'd wager that I'm not the only person who doesn't read /. or Kuro5hin or Plastic or Fark or whatever the name of that other one is. I only read MetaFilter and the sites that I have linked at my weblog and a few news sites. I come across other good stuff by following a trail of breadcrumbs here or there. I may start out at site A and follow a link to site B and end up at site G and think WOW...this would be a great MetaFilter post. But I would never think to check to see if it was on Blogdex or anywhere else, for that matter. I wonder - how does everyone else decide whether something is MetaFilter worthy?
posted by iconomy at 12:09 PM on April 24, 2002

I run a site that parses both Blogdex and Metafilter for links; I guarantee you that Metafilter usually leads Blogdex, not the other way around. Blogdex and Daypop are lagging indicators of a meme, since they aggregate links from multiple sites. On the other hand MeFi because of its popularity and reputation is a leading indicator. Memigo attempts to use past experience to predict memes ahead of time --at least when it comes to news items. Most of the time MeFi lags memigo, but memigo has a lower S/N because it's automated and has fewer .

I have to say though, professional sites are almost always ahead of the curve. News.com, NYT and Wired link to interesting articles ahead of everybody else --and most of the time you can see the meme propagate, say, from News.com to Slashdot to Blogdex to Metafilter. What makes MeFi important is not the freshness of the links, is the "value-add" of the discussion around them.
posted by costas at 12:46 PM on April 24, 2002

I have to say though, professional sites are almost always ahead of the curve

Which curve? For news-y type stuff, most sure but for more webby type things (Get Your War On) the only "establishment" outlet I see that's often with it is Salon.
posted by owillis at 1:11 PM on April 24, 2002

...whatever the name of that other one is.
As noted elsewhere: coughFadeToBlackcough
coughUnintentionallyFunnySiteoftheYearcough
The lead time there is one to two years, not in MetaFilter's favor...
Add that one to the list with Plastic, Fark and the Onion. Call it the Not So Obscure Store.
posted by y2karl at 1:36 PM on April 24, 2002

owillis: yes, I was referring to news-y type stuff. And I am not talking direct stories or AP feeds either. Wired and News.com (as well as New Scientist) seem to have actual people that do their "News from Around the Web"-type linking from their front pages. For bizarre or webby stuff, MeFi, memepool and others are definitely on the leading edge...
posted by costas at 2:14 PM on April 24, 2002

Monday: the Oh Wow It Looks Like She's Fellating That Trophy photo is linked at Kottke.org.

Tuesday: some random guy links it, apropos of nothing whatsoever, in the comments section of my sweetie's website.

Today: Salon gets in on the act. And one of my coworkers says to me, "Will it offend your delicate sensibilities if I show you something really funny?" And only after all that do I find it on MeFi.

MeFi's potential for Good is totally wasted on this sort of stuff.
posted by Sapphireblue at 3:04 PM on April 24, 2002

I'd say that that last example is tainted by the fact that it would have been posted sooner here had access to Mefi not been cut off. Though whether it was necessary to link it anywhere is pretty questionable... a blip on the radar; lint in the dryer of the blogging world.
posted by crunchland at 5:22 PM on April 24, 2002

The trophy photo is pretty much the exception that proves the rule about MeFi leading the meme generation game. As crunchland notes, the picture got its circulation while MeFi was down, giving other meme generators a chance to get to it first. I saw it on FilePile first, though FARK probably got an early crack at it. It's also very atypical of MeFi content.
posted by briank at 6:31 AM on April 25, 2002