News Source: http://nowsourcing.com
Published: Feb 14, 2008 - 12:12 pm
Story Found By: aimClear 1563 Days ago
Category: Sphinn Zone
36 Comments
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News Source: http://nowsourcing.com
Published: Feb 14, 2008 - 12:12 pm
Story Found By: aimClear 1563 Days ago
Category: Sphinn Zone
36 Comments
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Comments
Ironically, I tried to used the desphinn functionality on this item itself, but there still seem to be some bugs with the "character" requirements. For eg, it will say "too few characters" when I stripped it right down to 194 (which is just under the "max" 200 set anyway). As a side note, mods, what are the advantages in having that limit? Some people may need more than that to explain themselves :POn to why I was trying to use it anyway:I can understand the value to the post on the blog itself. It’s saying, "here is desphinn, this is what it is, well done sphinn team". But is the actual submission itself really *sphinnworthy* on the site itself (Sphinn) that already has an entire thread devoted to desphinn, and what it is? ( http://sphinn.com/story/27933 )I’m not so sure.As Rob said in the other thread mentioned previously: "We hope this feature will prevent stories from going live if they are weak in content and information."When you g et right down to it, what information was there in this post that couldnt be found in the other thread? It just seemed a bit weak to me.And please note, I’m not saying that about the post as an entity on it’s own blog. I just mean a bit weak in terms of a submission on the sphinn site itself.Am I explaining myself properly? No offence meant to anyone involved. But seeing as this is about desphinn itself, I thought it appropriate that I question the sphinnworthiness of it :P
Marty, I by no means intend to offend you with this (and this isn’t directed at you at all), but my finger was on the Desphinn trigger for awhile until I decided to be fair and post my assessment here. This is more intended for the quality of the story than the fact that it was submitted.To Brian: is there any real value to this story? It basically regurgitates what already is on the front page with your little "kudos" at the end. You could have accomplished the same thing by thanking Rob in his announcement post. The difference, I suppose, is that you’re aiming to get a top Sphinner to submit it so that your blog will get more pageviews. With all due respect, this really SHOULD be desphunn. A lot of good content that takes bloggers hours (days, weeks) to write gets overlooked because stuff like this (which was written in all of 5 seconds) hits the front page.Please, consider the value that other bloggers bring to Sphinn.
Tamar, this was my attempt to spread the word about Sphinn as my readers aren’t all necessarily part of this community, so they would have otherwise missed going to the front page. Making mention of me aiming to get a top Sphinner to convert it to not a whole lot of pageviews is not my goal - it is awareness. Not everyone has the Sphinn frontpage as their homepage - yet :)
Tamar - you are sort of presuming that Brian wanted it sphinning ;) one of the problems when you open the social media genie some one is bound to submit just about anything you write to somewhere news worthy or not.Anyway I’m off to use my democratic right and desphinn the post ;) which will be my second desphinn the first was on one of my own posts! (it was a resubmit)
Tim makes a very good point though. Will De-sphinn mean the end of people submitting their own posts? :)
I think it is largely a losing battle to try and get everyone to point to or write about one "original" source. That’s because opinions quickly diverge or spread out for lots of reasons.Take this example. OK, the "original" story on Desphinn was our thread here about it. I can certainly understand that it is easier if the conversation about it happens in that same place.But it’s going to spread. Yep, some will do a short kudos post. Others will do a kick the tires I don’t like it thing. And as time goes on, more distinct posts about it will come.I come back to feeling that you have to let the Sphinn’s sort it out. I would love for the world and social media to be a nice, orderly place. And on the development list is a way to have "related" sphinns, so that people who see something going hot might be able to add links to their own thoughts on the subject.But social media is messy, so we largely go with the votes. But that’s also where desphinning can provide some balance. It can be a way to say "nice article, but not substantial enough to go hot," and people can slow it down. That’s not necessarily a negative move as some thing desphinning might have to be.
By accident I tried sphinning and desphinning the post - there’s a bug: it tells me my message is too short (less than 50 chars) but I’ve even exceeded the limit of 200 chars or so. BTW I’ve voted for Tamar’s take - no offense Brian + Marty :)
"Tamar, this was my attempt to spread the word about Sphinn as my readers aren’t all necessarily part of this community..."Then they won’t care if a Desphinn button exists at all.
@Tamar: Thanks for your input. As you know, I’ve been doing my level best to honor what I’ve learned about social media integrity. I’ve become one of the more rigerous evangalists of bookmarking the original post. I almost always do. I respect your opinion. A couple of things to consider:OK, so I Sphinn a LOT (3694 Sphinns, 213 submits/152 hot to be exact) but SOMEHOW I missed the EvailGreen announcement. Crazy as it sounds, I actually found out about the Desphinn button going live on one of my daily trips through the 122 blogs I skim ....NowSourcing scooped it for me. I was grateful.OK, so I leared about it from Brian in his post. I was excited ’cause I hate Sphinn Spam. Because of his reporting, I did not have to check out Rob’s post. TIME SAVER. Brian did a service to me by summarizing the news of the day and I found it ’cause I subscribe to his feed. Nobody complains when somehone Sphinns an SEL post which is reporting on a story found on a WebMaster World thread, WSJ, NYTimes, or Techmeme.That’s seems to be just fine. :)Brian’s post was valuable to me. I Sphunn the post. If you don’t like it, DeSphinn it and it won’t hurt my feelings a bit. We all find value in different places. I found mine by discovering a post that summarized things nicely and saved me time. I bet a lot of people missed Rob’s announcment if I did. I bet some are finding out about it right now, here in this thread. Does THAT make it worthy...if ONE person learns about the feature from this Sphinn?One last thing: If Brian had hated the new DeSphinn feature, blogged about it, and I Sphunn it...again there would be no complaints. @Tim: It’s an honor to host your second Desphinn. :) Thanks for the great dialog everybody. You’re all the best.
As Danny said, social media are messy. So you go with the flow. None of us are here all the time. The search function, even if it wasn’t buggy, wouldn’t always find a previous reference. Sit back and enjoy the crowd as they mill around.
Barry -This is completely off topic, but I love the fact that you used ’are’ instead of ’is’ in your comment, above. Canadians are just cooler.Miriam
Marty, desphunn, I went to the page and read it. Is this the start of "Postcard blogging". Does the front page of sphinn really need articles that are shorter than a USA Today horoscope?C’mon, lets boost the quality.
Lyndon: Blog = http://tinyurl.com/3xevpzI’d hate to think that we can’t find value in a few short sentences. I’m glad these people didn’t know it either:The past cannot be changed. The future is yet in your power.Mary Pickford Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass,it’s about learning to dance in the rain.- Author Unknown -What we truly and earnestly aspire to be, that in some sense, we are. The mereaspiration, by changing the frame of the mind, for the moment realizes itself.- Anna Jameson -
Recommending what amounts to anchor text linking to an already sphunn official Sphinn post is simply inane behaviour. "I bet a lot of people missed Rob’s announc[e]ment if I did." The blog article includes graphics and links to the original announcement on Sphinn. It is obvious that Sphinn knew about it. And even if this were not about Sphinn derived news - what added value did that blogger impart to the story? With no added value a real sphinnmeister would have followed the link provided, read the source, reconsidered value, and pointed to something worth reading.Perhaps a little more reading-comprehension and a little less skimming-over before sphinning is in order. Quality not quantity please.
This is a Tempest in a teapot. Yal’l must have better things to do with your time then get lit up over this. :) I’ll tell you what I tell my ex-wife...SORRY!Have any of you considered the good phun that a post ABOUT Desphinns could be the first homepage hot post actually DeSphunn.@ Lyndon: Say, I have 152 hot posts on this site which requires a substancial ongoing investment in time. Nobodies perfect. I understand the community and am committed to bookmarking valuable content. Even if I was totally wrong...cut me some slack mate:) I request forgivness from the mob for my henious transgressions. Marty
It’s really kinda sad that so many people are attacking Brian and Marty. If ya didn’t like it you don’t have to write a novel, just DeSphinn it saying you didn’t feel it was newsworthy. Brian has the right to blog about whatever he wants and Marty can Sphinn whatever he deems valuable. And Guess what... a lot of other people thought this was valuable too.
Gamermk: Yup yup..What you said. :-)~
"I have 152 hot posts on this site which requires a substancial ongoing investment in time... I understand the community and am committed to bookmarking valuable content...I request forgivness from the mob for my henious transgressions."aimClear: sadly, I don’t think you have learned a thing from this tempest in a teapot.Reiterating your celebrity and commitment is not an answer to any of the complaints raised. No one that I see has raised your hot rate, your commitment, or your heinous behaviour - except you. That my comment, among others, is seen, by some, as a personal attack is incorrect. It is a plea for basic quality control. I have largely been quiet about the value level of information as Sphinn is new and control features remain forthcoming. But this particular post was, to me, so egregious that I had to comment; desphinn is a coincidence. With the number of supporting sphinns far outweighing the desphinns I suspect I will shall garner frequent down-voted comments. Either those sphinners believe in blind-faith support, right or wrong OR they honestly believe that linking that blog post was a valuable informative addition to Sphinn. In either instance I am, apparently, out of step. As usual.
"And Guess what... a lot of other people thought this was valuable too."Or they just blindly voted. And that’s the other problem.Just like I said before, good quality stuff is being ignored in favor of low quality content. Here’s what Maki says on this Sphinn, and I wholeheartedly agree."But it irritates me to see low-value, high noise stuff hitting the frontpage or hogging the Top 10 Most Sphunn queue, especially when other more valuable stuff just languishes and dies because the owner of the blog isn’t in the industry nor does he/her have any friends here."----SpostareDuro, are you really defending the quality of Brian’s post? You’re telling me that this blog post is comparable to those one-line quotes said by great minds? It’s nice that you’re supporting your friends, but the bottom line is that a bunch of people are not getting any recognition they deserve simply because they don’t know anyone. And it’s nice to see that my comment reflecting that sentiment gets buried. Apparently you really do have to be popular in the industry to hit Sphinn’s front page, and that’s really sad.This opinion comes from the only Sphinner with a 100% ratio.
@iamlost: No celebrity...just an honest...humble commitment to craft, a willingness to admit that I’m wrong, a desire to grow...a track record of investment of my time time and energy in Sphinn since the begining. You won’t meet anybody more willing to admit cupability than me. Tamar will tell you...I’m thick, but I learn and change.I once read a post by Tamar where she quoted how many digg stories she’s voted for and that had WEIGHT for me. She’s about the least pretentious person I’ve met in social media and SHE quoted stats. For goodness sakes her SU avatar is a GOAT. Her comment about Digg stats was not the least bit arrogent...it did not claim celebraty it was deep and illustrated her commitment to craft.This thread was the FIRST TIME EVER I quoted Sphinn stats because the tempest in a teapot grossed me out. Whatever...Tamar or Lyndon, or Jeff Quip have earned the right to tell me that I’m mistaken or that "sadly aimClear has not learned a thing."Here’s your particpation in Sphinn:<table border="0" style="border: medium none "><tbody><tr><td style="width: 25%">Joined:</td> <td style="width: 25%">2007-07-16</td> <td style="width: 25%">Topics Submitted:</td> <td style="width: 25%">1</td> </tr> <tr> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 25%">Comments Made:</td> <td style="width: 25%">22</td> <td style="width: 25%">Topics Gone Hot:</td> <td style="width: 25%">0</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 25%">Sphinns Cast:</td> <td style="width: 25%">82</td> <td style="width: 25%"> </td> <td style="width: 25%"> </td></tr></tbody></table>My guess is that with a profile like this you could bring a lot to Sphinn, especially because you seem authentic and plucky. However before you engage in public speculation regarding what you think I’ve learned or not learned, why don’t you send me some blog posts you’ve written about social media that matter as much to me as Tamar’s do. Then we’ll talk about your opinion of how "sad" I am.Again all, thanks for the AWESOME dialog, even iamlost. :)
aimClear: "Tamar or Lyndon, or Jeff Quip have earned the right to tell me that I’m mistaken or that ’sadly aimClear has not learned a thing’." 1. Then please answer their concerns about quality as raised in this comment thread.2. ’earned the right’. What a load of horse cookies. There is no ’right’ to raise questions of right or wrong or to give an opinion other than to be a member of the community. 3. "not learned a thing from this tempest". Your attitude and excuses answer in full. And then you have the unmitigated gall to hold up my Sphinn participation level as some litmous test of how you personally value my comments. No, I do not spend my time marketing myself, by blog or otherwise. I develop and market my own properties, which I have done for over a decade. Nor do I go to webmaster or SEM conventions, going instead to niche and ad agency gatherings. Surprise! There is a world, an internet, a web, and marketing, beyond the bloggartsphere. You have and do put forward a good number of interesting links. Sphinn has been an excellent vehicle for marketing yourself and your agency. Congratulations on time well spent. But you would do well to consider the origin and definition of hubris.
Given that this is one of the social media, doesn’t that mean a certain level of sociability. If you’re wandering around a cocktail party, most often it’s the here and now that counts. You go with the flow. Shouldn’t that be true here also?
@iamlost: I appreciate your passion. I’ll keep what you say in mind. I’ve answered your questions about my motivation for Sphinnig this post allready in this thread. It’s totally OK to disagree with me. You took this "personal" first...and no, when someone you don’t know meets you at a cocktail party and they start by taking a personal shot...well...whatever.That said. I feel badly for the heat of the exchange. You’re probably a very cool person. We can discontinue the dialog now and let cooler heads prevail. I’ll see you in the threads.Best of luck. Peace.MartyPS, I participate in Sphinn because I love the place...the people...the tone...the heart...the information...the community...
Tamar, I’ve always agreed that being popular = frontpage here. I can remember being attacked by numerous long standing members here for saying just that (Lyndon being one of them I recall) and even having a blog post wrote attacking my comment on the issue. (a post that was sphunn and went hot) And all I did was stated it, I didn’t even say I had an issue with it. It’s how social media is, it’s a popularity contest. I mean sure the roots of this popularity contest start with being an active sphinner that puts forth high quality submissions, but eventually "blind sphinning" as you call it does occur. I mean think about, you had a submission about a fridge hit the frontpage. Sure, it was a Google Fridge, but I mean come on... it was a fridge. :/The way I see it, it’s one submission on a relevant, new topic. Ya, the quality of the post wasn’t super high, I definitely know I’m not sphinning it, but it’s timely. Timely topics seem to always do well in social media. I guess what I’d like to know is, what’s your solution?
"It’s how social media is, it’s a popularity contest. ... I guess what I’d like to know is, what’s your solution?"Gamermk, let me ask this: as much as I hate using the term, was I popular a little over a year ago? No. The thing is that you don’t become a star overnight. It takes long hours and hard work to be recognized. I have a problem with social media being a popularity contest, but I think that the "popularity" is ultimately earned.And actually, if you looked around the blogosphere, that "fridge" post made its rounds -- a lot. So while you may not have considreed the content Sphinnworthy, it was definitely buzzworthy and people talked about it. Sure, you have a right to challenge my one questionable submission (I’ll even admit that it wasn’t exactly the norm of what I usually submit). But did people Sphinn that because it was my submission, or did they Sphinn that because they thought it was cool? I sure as hell hope they Sphunn it because they thought it was cool. I’m not aiming to use my avatar to have things Sphunn just because they like my pretty face. And that’s why I don’t submit very frequently either. I try to find the best content and I only submit content that is great but hasn’t been submitted before. What’s my solution? Engage yourself in the community in a pleasant way (not attacking, rather encouraging) and consistently post the best content. With time, you’ll be "popular" too.
This has certainly sparked a debate, difficult to follow the thread though as issues are being brought up from way back "but 4 years ago you made a nagative comment on my post, wahhhhhhhh". Man, talk about social memory.I’m not even sure what this is all about. Marty does a post, people think it’s great and sphinn it, others think it’s not and desphinn.It’s not complicated.
Let me make it clear, I’m not complaining about the state of things. I like it. Tamar, I agree completely that you earned your popularity (and as I said in my last comment this is something earned), but all I was trying to really say is cut Marty some slack. Even you (who I agree is very, very selective in your submissions) have a weak submission or two and the reality is even with your best submissions you are getting some blind sphinns. None of us are perfect and all of us submit stuff from time to time that we think is cool or interesting to us that’s ultimately not super valuable and that’s completely okay.
@Lyndon: Here here..exactly right. Tempest in a teapost I say! :)
Urgh it’s lame boring and a repeat, sorry brian! plus some other stuff to get over 50 characters
By accident I tried sphinning and desphinning the post - there’s a bug: it tells me my message is too short (less than 50 chars) but I’ve even exceeded the limit of 200 chars or so.
I desphunn this because it is old news by now. Nothing personal, but this one doesn’t provide much insight or value.
Doesn’t add any value for me because it simply repeats what has been already mentioned before. It’s just noise IMO.
Okay, I gave in. But apparently I need to fill the 50 character minimum requirement. See my comments.
Okay, I gave in. But apparently I need to fill the 50 character minimum requirement. See my comments.
Recommending what amounts to anchor text linking to an already sphunn official Sphinn post is simply inane behaviour.
Desphinning because this is just a sphinn of a very short blog post about a sphinn. The real content is 3 levels down at the original sphinn.