Wired Memespread Article

May 7, 2004 6:07 PM

Not worth a front page post, but anyone who found the memespread project interesting might also be interested in this follow-up article in Wired. [via gulker.com]
posted by cbrody to MetaFilter-Related at 6:07 PM (4 comments total)

Kottke:

I suspect that due to the different audiences of the two sites, the meme was probably also more virulent among MeFi readers than kottke.org readers; that is, MeFi readers were more likely to infect others with the meme than were those of kottke.org.

Wired:

Eytan Adar, a researcher at Hewlett-Packard Labs who has studied how information spreads across blogs, says Arbesman was lucky that somebody served as a "bridge" between the kottke.org and MetaFilter communities.

I probably only noticed the original post because Sam Arbesman is at Brandeis U. (where I did my BA) -- must be serendipity.
posted by cbrody at 6:20 PM on May 7, 2004

MetaFilter: more virulent than kottke
Didn't somebody do that tagline about three years ago?
posted by wendell at 8:17 PM on May 7, 2004

It's all very artificial though isn't it, especially given that the meme was started at a relatively popular blog like Kottke. What is interesting to me is fairly random web sites that are discovered by lesser known blogs and then suddenly swarm across the "blogosphere".
Take this Private Eye Covers site. This was seemingly uncovered by chance by this guy on April 18th, blogged by the small band of people that read his site, myself included, before eventually turning up on Metafilter on the 25th and in The Guardian on the 29th. I still see it pop up occasionally a few weeks later.
A saw a similar genuine meme spread with this Chernobyl Bike Ride site which was found seemingly by accident here before spreading like wild fire around the web.

It would be fascinating to get hold of the referer logs for the Private Eye site and track the meme accurately. Maybe I'll contact the webmaster to see if he can offer any insight.
posted by chill at 2:30 AM on May 8, 2004

cbrody - I found it interesting, thanks
posted by troutfishing at 6:52 AM on May 8, 2004