[Search-l] "directory" vs. "search engine"

[Jimmy Wales]

On Jun 11, 2007, at 8:59 PM, Seth Finkelstein wrote:
>> Consider bowling.  Some people get paid a lot of money to bowl.
>
> 	The fallacy in this analogy is they get paid a lot of money
> because others like to watch them bowl, and hence their performance
> has an economic value. Whereas there is very little economic value
> in the average bowler's performance.

Well, I think the same is true for writing, is it not?  There is a  
lot of economic value in
J. K. Rowling's writings.  And there is very little economic value in  
most people's
writings.

> 	And one fuel of blog-evangelism is in part the phenomena that
> *many* people can be fleeced by dangling in front of them the social
> status associated with published writers, and then profiting from them
> in various ways.

I think this view fundamentally disrespects people who blog, assuming  
that they
are being "fleeced".  I don't think many of them would agree with  
you.  I certainly
don't.

--Jimbo