The few, the loud, the 1%
Somebody blew his or her Friskies on the hood of the Weaselmobile last night. I should probably wash that off, huh?
This reminded me of something I read recently about ‘participation inequality’ on the internet. It flows from the stuff about online communities: 90% of the people who use the internet do nothing but lurk, 9% contribute a bit, and 1% are pretty much carrying the whole thing. And by “carrying” I mean “will not shut-the-fuck-up.” On blogs, it’s even more skewed; more like 95%/5%/.1%.
I am, I confess, completely mystified by this. That’s the whole dealio for me: I FINALLY get to talk back to the book/newspaper/TV program. I’ve been rustling newsprint and waving books around in the air, screaming at televisions and giving lectures to my car radio for decades. Now, it’s my turn. Back up, folks! The internet is Preparation H for the burning, itching soul.
If you don’t talk back, how is browsing the Web any different than channel-flipping cable? Not counting the abundant free hardcore porn. I don’t get what you’re getting here.
See, this is hard. I’m trying to ask a question of a group of people whose signal characteristic is that they don’t answer questions. I want to know why you Lurkie Lous and Silent Sams won’t talk to me, but it’s like asking a blind man his favorite color: it’s pointless and cruel at the same time.
So…why won’t you blind bastards talk to me?
June 13, 2007 — 5:32 pm
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