Great content stays hidden

The problem with the Internet is that the gems are often hidden. I love reading, not just books but especially blog posts. Why? I believe that we grow as people by listening to others. I don’t necessarily have to agree with someone else but listening to their opinion allows me to think about my own. Thinking about it, it’’s not reading I love –it’s thinking. Books and blog post are just mediums through which I can get a lot to think about in a short time. This might also explain my passion for discussions. When you are with someone who is on the same wavelength, you can bounce back ideas and opinions for hours. It’s one of my favourite things to do.

The internet is no longer a static place, it has become dynamic. First came the hyperlinks, then the search engines and now social media sites. I find myself spending hours discovering new content from the blogs I follow, YC Hacker News and Twitter. What’s a shame is that great content often never even arises above the surface; even with access to all these new content aggregators. With thousands of opinions being written in each niche, is it really a handful of sites that have one worth listening to?

In each niche there are a few authority sites that make up for most of the content we see (The Long Tail theory is applicable). Is it so that each blog with great content can slowly accumulate readers till it hits a critical mass and becomes an authority? Or is it so that at the start of a niche, when there are no authority sites yet, several arise and once they have a monopoly they stay there?

p.s. On a side note about reading, I went to Amazon today to order all the books I’ve been recommended to read from people who’s opinion I value. I’ve put them here below, I’ll share my opinion on each book once I’ve finished it. Hover over the images to see the book’s titles.

Dont Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 2nd Edition

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

The Fountainhead

The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations

The Wisdom of Crowds

Walden

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values
July 21, 2008 | Filed Under Mini Essays 

Comments

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    Hello, Eiso - It's interesting that you read to think. I definitely agree that it's always great to see what other people's opinions are, especially if you're on the fence about something and you learn more about both sides from people who are passionate about their stance.

    The best thing about social networking is the discussion that takes place. It's always been something taken for granted, but more and more I see people focusing in on the dynamic of social discussion itself, and promoting the discussions in each niche that serve a specific interest. Which is what I am planning on writing about next. ;)

    Too bad you're not local! There's a web designer's group meeting tonight and the topic is about social networking and social media. I'm very curious to hear what the other people have to say.
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    >Is it so that each blog with great content can slowly accumulate readers till it hits a critical mass and becomes an authority? Or is it so that at the start of a niche, when there are no authority sites yet, several arise and once they have a monopoly they stay there?

    I think it's a bit of both. RSS feeds give a major advantage to early players, but sites like Reddit give newcomers (like me) a chance.

    The main "problem" however is the narrowness of categorization in most social networking site. If a great article doesn't fit on the the reddit groups the "purity police" will vote it into oblivion. It's high time that agregators like reddit should start agregating their own groups. i.e. the "visual basic", "PHP" and "Ruby" groups should by automatically merge to form "Programming" which should merge into "Software" etc. Articles should be submitted at the lowest leaf node and propogate upward with voting at all levels.
 
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