The "Lazysphere" Debate: First ‘Bitchmeme’ of 2008
Well it’s 2008 now, but it’s good to know that one 2007 tradition will hold steady: “Bitchmeme“. Today Steve Rubel – who is a great blogger that I have followed since I started blogging – asks if tech blogging hasn’t become a “lazysphere” in which people are content to write little blurbs on a topic to simply get on Techmeme or possibly even Digg.
In certain cases I think that is a very true and fair point. Anyone who simply copy-and-pastes a line from another blog, maybe adds a sentence of their own and then links back to them would certainly seem a good candidates for the “lazyweb”. But I think it’s important to differentiate between those and the rest of many of the writers frequently on Techmeme. As Steven Hodson and Mathew Ingram point out, many of us are out here trying to add value to a discussion – even if we are not necessarily always the source of the discussion. Maybe many don’t agree but I find going to Techmeme and finding many familiar writers weigh in with different opinions on topics to be interesting. If I don’t like a particular writer, I don’t read them.
The fact of the matter is that if no one discussed topics someone else has already brought up, just about everything would get lost in the ether of the Internet. It’s these very discussions that can sometimes bring about change such as we when many of us write about the displeasure with certain elements of Google Reader’s new social direction.
Furthermore, as I pointed out in a comment on Mathew’s post, while I certainly do get a lot of value from original posts, I do still find it important to comment on big stories which I have an opinion on. Aside from opinions, I think it’s also easy to forget just by looking at Techmeme that many of us have many other readers outside of Techmeme – should they not see some of this news simply because they don’t read Techememe?
So while I agree with Steve’s assertion that certain elements of the tech blogosphere are becoming fluff and lazy – I think it would be wrong to hold all of those found on Techmeme under that umbrella. Sometimes a strong opinion is no less important than an original thought.
Other ‘Bitchmemes’:
