Comments on: The Economics of The Online Echo

By: Maren Kate

Maren Kate — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 23:11:22 +0000

Very interesting post, I have heard a lot about the blogosphere's echo chamber but never from this angle. Like it

By: Andrew Swenson

Andrew Swenson — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 22:55:41 +0000

Nice work here Cameron. The incentives argument is right on.

I think the echo is dangerous and leads to nothing more than useless noise. There are some days I go through 50 blog posts and find only 3 that were worth my time reading.

I do think that there is a distinction between regurgitation and pushing or responding to an argument. This post is a great example of that. You took an established argument and you pushed it further with critical thinking and research (not just your opinion).

By: chiefdh

chiefdh — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:16:05 +0000

Great post. I agree with many of your points. Although I have not yet set up my blog (just got turned on to “LD” a couple weeks ago, any suggestions where to start? Ahhh!), but I do frequently read personal and professional/corporate blogs, and this is becoming more and more of a problem. In the fictional novel “The Lost Symbol” by Dan Brown, the author points out that many of the scientific advancements made by Greek, Persian, Egyptian and other ancient civilizations, were lost over time or forgotten about. This poses a great hindrance to progress because we are forced to “re-invent the whee”, rather than contributing original thought or advancement as you point out. I believe the online echo is a phenomenon that has been occurring for a long time in publishing, but is being newly discovered on the web. Thanks for this great post. Don Harkins 3

By: Untemplater Weekend Reading: ‘Just Doing It’ Edition — Untemplater

Untemplater Weekend Reading: ‘Just Doing It’ Edition — Untemplater — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 16:03:44 +0000

[...] The Economics of The Online Echo – Cameron Plommer at Econ Apps Cameron explains that the reason there’s so much regurgitation and paraphrasing online is not because of laziness, but because of incentives. [...]

By: AmneHiraiwa

AmneHiraiwa — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:12:07 +0000

As a new blogger, I look to other fellow bloggers for inspiration for new posts. But, I believe that the whole point is to give your take on a topic. Despite the incentives to paraphrase, there is also the incentive to establish your own identity through your blog with your own ideas. As a blogger there is a responsibility to add to the discussion despite the strong incentives to echo.

By: Carlos Miceli

Carlos Miceli — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 01:51:30 +0000

This post is brilliant. And what hurts me the most is that you taught me a lesson:

"I agree with his feelings and I wish things were that way. I just think it wont happen unless the incentives change. And right now the incentives are to impress others with what you know. The path of least resistance is to paraphrase."

As somebody who brags about how realistic he is constantly, this is really important for me to read. You make a great point on why this won't change.

You explain perfectly why this is bad, and won't change. Just like many other things in the world.

By: admin

admin — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 01:00:58 +0000

Thanks Carlos. Nice to see that I could add something to your idea and show a new point of view