- Failure to Recognize Choice: I think author/blogger Nicholas Carr gets it right when
- Failure to Realize that Competition Spurs Innovation: Is this blogosphere not consistently evangelizing the adoption of new web technology? Businesses like Audible.com have every right to ensure that no one else is eating their lunch and to move into new spaces. They have every right to use whatever means they find appropriate to solve the problems they see, whether that be via a proprietary or open standards solution. They should be applauded for this move or at least for attempting something innovative. And if someone or some company thinks they can do something better than Audible.com, then they should.
- Failure to Recognize that Bloggers Don't Always Deserve Special Treatment: Yes, the blogosphere is full of early adopters who get' the new web revolution but they are not the end-all-be-all of smart savvy thinkers out there. It's pretty bold to think that any release of a new service needs to be run through the blogosphere first. After all, even with the dwindling of newspaper and other traditional media sales, the total number of people consuming blogs is still relatively small when compared to the old media' outlets.
- Failure to Hear Out Dissenting Opinions: Bloggers (especially political bloggers) often talk about the MSM - short for mainstream media. Essentially, bloggers believe themselves to somehow counterbalance the biased, unfair, or fluffy coverage of the old media regime. But from within the once free spirited and frequently contrarian attitude of the blogosphere that challenged everything', a new evolution is unraveling in the tech/business blogging space. There now exists an extremely powerful group of bloggers who each reach thousands upon thousands of readers a day and who often link solely to each other. It's the echo chamber effect at its worst and less you agree with these very influential people, you must be wrong. A technology that once powered the voice of the "little guy" is now dominated by an elite group of bloggers who often agree with each other and often dismiss dissenting voices or ideas they don't like - best exemplified by the roasting of Audiblie.com and its consultant Mitch Ratcliffe.
In trying to get to the crux of the perceived problem with Audible.com's Wordcast, its difficult to separate the personal versus the technical debate. This controversy is further proof that the consumers of media need a better mix of the goods of the blogosphere and the goods of traditional media (yes, I admitted that traditional media has some goods'). Namely, we need the accountability and independence of the blogosphere as it originally existed with the professionalism of traditional journalism. Ken Yarmosh is a consultant who helps organizations get the most out of their technology investments. He works with technology users and creators across various industries, focusing on technology education and strategy. With over 7 years IT experience, Ken has worked with small businesses, non-profits, federal agencies, and multi-million dollar companies. His online efforts include acting as the Editor for the Corante Technology Hub and authoring theSuggest a Correction
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The Audible.com Debacle
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