Online participation follows the same winner-take-all hierarchy the old media had
Evidence
[Clay Shirky’s] analysis showed that the blogosphere wasn’t a smooth ball where everyone had an equal voice. Rather, it was dominated by a handful of sites that pulled enormous numbers, followed by a loooooÂoooooÂng tail of sites with a few followers. The old pernicious topology had reasserted itself. We should have known that it would, and it took a while for the miserable fact to sink in. — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 967
Categorization
- XREF: Reverses the early egalitarian expectations of Web 2.0 and connects to the broader recurring pattern in this book of each new attention medium reproducing the older hierarchy. — connects to: Traditional media are institutionalized and gatekept while social media are accessible and reciprocal; The internet amplifies existing political power rather than transforming it — W. David Marx, Blank Space: A Cultural History of the…, 489; Online communities reproduce status hierarchies that limit who can participate — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 173 (+2 more)
- QUESTION: Shirky’s analysis — worth chasing down what data or study this came from to cite precisely.
Broader Connections
- Internet communication reflects rather than transcends offline power relations
#corroborates(0.90) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 58 - The internet amplifies existing political power rather than transforming it
#corroborates(0.85) — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 489 - Online communities reproduce status hierarchies that limit who can participate
#expands(0.80) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 173