Most of What We Read on the Internet is Written by Insane People
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Re: Most of What We Read on the Internet is Written by Insane People
#2Exactly - within 30 minutes 20 people have upvoted but no one has commented.
Re: Most of What We Read on the Internet is Written by Insane People
#3Exactly - within 30 minutes 20 people have upvoted but no one has commented.
You've ruined the Game.
Re: Most of What We Read on the Internet is Written by Insane People
#4Yes. Most of the content you watch on TV was written and acted by outliers. The products you use and consume were crafted, marketed and even distributed by outliers.
First, when zoomed out, outliers in all possible tasks become more common — internet commenting is just a subset for silly folks like me.
Secondly, the emergent human social fabric is built to recognize and amplify outspoken and / or talented outliers, via mechanisms whereby others who {agree, can find utility, can profit} are incentivized to act as amplifiers. The cost function to repeat a message drops precipitously every time it’s repeated (influences status quo). I’m not sure it’s particularly surprising that internet social forums behave by the same rules — and are even optimized to replicate them mechanistically (upvotes).
I mean... not be dismissive, I guess it does strike me as particularly neat that the internet provides a medium for these people to productively share insight and identify new niches where they can potentially add value to the rest of the world. Where would we on HN be without, say, patio11? :)
Re: Most of What We Read on the Internet is Written by Insane People
#5Re: Most of What We Read on the Internet is Written by Insane People
#6Yes. Most of the content you watch on TV was written and acted by outliers. The products you use and consume were crafted, marketed and even distributed by outliers. First, when zoomed out, outliers in all possible tasks become more common — internet commenting is just a subset for silly folks like me. Secondly, the emergent human social fabric is built to recognize and amplify outspoken and / or talented outliers, v…
I still think it's surprising that there are so many lurkers who literally never engage in the discussion, considering the barriers to do so are so low.
Re: Most of What We Read on the Internet is Written by Insane People
#7While I find the research interesting, I have to say that this is not what I read on the internet. Wikipedia has no use for the kind of work I do, and most books I am recommended by other people, so I don't need to sit and read a review. As for Reddit, I do use it but again, only in very niche forums where the discussion is never one-sided or made to look informative.
The same goes for my news sources and other content. Sure, I enjoy the occasional mainstream YouTube video, but if I'm looking up something technical -- I prefer to read articles and blog posts from actual people with firsthand experience.
Re: Most of What We Read on the Internet is Written by Insane People
#8[deleted]
Re: Most of What We Read on the Internet is Written by Insane People
#9Exactly - within 30 minutes 20 people have upvoted but no one has commented.
And many people saw this post but didn't upvote as they were just lurking.
Re: Most of What We Read on the Internet is Written by Insane People
#10Am here for over 2 years now, rarely upvote something, haven't submitted anything and this is just my 2nd comment... Pretty sure this rule holds for close to all kind of forums.