MediaVidea

The Mathew Effect and what you can do about it

So, there is an A-list.

Finally, someone actually went out and proved it scientifically (read about it in NYT here) why people in the movie start clapping after you clapped first.

You need the approval, votes of at least a few people (hate that term, early adopters).

Paul Kedrosky points to the Matthew Effect, which says the rich get richer and the poor get poorer…eminent scientists become even more eminent.


Notes on the Mathew Effect:

1. Be the first. Dave Winer was the first blogger. Michael Arrington was the first to cover web 2.0 startups. Rafat Ali and Om Malik were the first journalists to go into online publishing. Nick Denton and Jason Calacanis were the first to start blog networks. Jeff Jarvis was one of the first MSM journalists to see the future online. Digg was the first voting site. Myspace was one of the first Social Networking sites.

2. Be there first. Show others the way.

3. Blogging is passé…soon it will be as normal as websites or portal. It is just a publishing tool/medium. (This is valid for all those who want to get rich with blogging. Ignore if you blog to build your corporate brand, personal brand, or professional brand)

4. The blog networks of today will become the media networks of tomorrow. Go into blog networks only if you can monetize quickly.

5. Standing out is hard.

6. Look at those tiny blips on Digg Cloud, which no one reads.

7. Look at yet another new Web 2.0 application. Today, for example, it is Leaptag, yet another social bookmarking tool. Few think beyond the early leaders as Del.icio.us, Flickr and Stumbleupon.

8. Look at the Digg cabal (yes, it does exist) which makes sure that one of ‘their’ story gets the boost with at least a few votes which makes the story stand better for attention from other diggers.

9. The gap between top blogs and bottom blogs is getting bigger and it has nothing to do with quality, better news, better opinion, or anything.

10. Some say even Mozart would need a talent agent and mentor if he was alive today.

11. Invent something new.

12. Invent a new publishing tool that can beat blogging.

13. Try something new. There is a reason behind the recent craze for twitter, tumblr etc.

14. Combine data from blogs in a unique way. Be the first blog aggregator. (Aw, someone has already been there)

15. The popular guys do not necessarily have the best ideas, original ideas. Michael Arrington may not know everything about web 2.0 success, Glenn Reynolds is not the best political opinionist, Robert Scoble is no Mencken…

16. You write an original essay on web 2.0, only 2 people read it.

17. You write about your so far weird life, your friends will surely read it. Ride for your community, for like-minded people, rather than for those faceless souls who won't comment, won't click on ads.

18. Ride on the success of the successful. Techmeme does it daily.

19. The blogosphere gives you few opportunities for you to stand out. Clay Shirky once wrote about David Sifry of Technorati talking about starting Technorati Interesting Newcomers List, on Technorati. That was only talk.

20. What about holding a Blog Idol? Even Steven Spielberg is into finding new directing talent through a new reality show titled ‘On the lot’.

21. Keep trying out new things. That is how new actors, directors, musicians do it.

22. You need one big success to make it – a successful blog, a story that has been dugged by thousand people. A movie actor or pop artists need at least one stand out act and he is on his way to gold plated Jacuzzi.

23. Don’t link to top bloggers. Link to small bloggers.
Don’t let the top ones gain more advantage from free links. Hell, they don’t even work for links anymore.

24. Since you can’t force bloggers not to link to top bloggers (free country and all), pay them to link you instead. However, big daddy Google is against after paid links.

25. If you still think you can make your blog a commercial (and linking) success, try out best of breed marketing and content strategies. Learn from the local airport bookshop, see what titles sell best. Employ all available SEO tactics. If you still can't make it, try some black hat and if even that doesn't work out, bring all your stuff offline. :-)

26. If you can’t be number 1 , at least get to number 2 position. According to the Pareto Principle, 20% of the population is holding 80% of the wealth. This analogy easily translates into business activities. Al Ries and Jack Trout have written that the top 2 companies in any market capture 80% of the market.

27. If you can’t be number 1, change the way people do things. Google changed search. Myspace looked ugly but people found it easy. Start by attacking and having a sharp tongue. Nick Douglas at Valleywag does it best.

Related MediaVidea Posts
Do we really need blogs?
Downside of A-list economy: Link Baiting is easy
Rules of the Superstar Economy
A-Listers vs. Long tail: An underdog's story

Labels: blogging, research report

posted by Pramit Singh @ 4:01 PM