As Michele and I watched the Superbowl, I kept thinking that I should care more about who wins. But, with the Jets out of it, I really don't care who wins. I know, I know, because Bush ignored New Orleans, I really should be rooting for the Saints. It is the only American thing to do.
But I am really thinking about the Forbes top Web Celebs. Forbes knows more about making and keeping money than I do. And now they are telling me that they they know more about the web than I ever will. Forbes just unveiled reveled published a list of the the twenty five biggest web celebrities, or, as they say,
For the Forbes Web Celeb 25, we track the biggest and brightest stars
on the Internet, the people who have turned their passions into new
media empires. From stay-at home-moms to geek entrepreneurs, these are
the people capturing eyes, influencing opinion and creating the new
digital world.
I've heard of the first guy on the list, gossip blogger Perez Hilton, but I don't think that I have been to the blog. I ran into this List of 25 when I read a columnist at the guardian.co.uk writing about the List and saying that Perez pioneered the upskirt shot and then goes on to make him sound even less appetizing.
The second guy, Michael Arrington, I have never even heard of but his blog, TechCrunch, does look sort of interesting and Michele says that it sounds familiar. The third guy, "media wunderkind" Pete Cashmore ditto – ; the fourth spot is held by the Twitter guys so, at least, I have heard of them.
Then it is a complete blank until # 17 which is the Drudge Report. On the way to #17, several of the people (blogs) look interesting, like dooce®. But, it isn't until #20, that I run into anybody that I actually know anything about and I think that is only because I have heard John Dvorak on NPR. Then, at #21, I finally hit paydirt. Ana Marie Cox, a political blogger who started The Wonkette. A snarky, leftist blog which she sold at a big profit – I think.
I believe them that these are the people capturing eyes, etc, etc but I
really feel Forbes must be wrong because the list is so far from my own
experience. I also realize that the web, life for that matter, is like
highschool in that we are all stuck in our own group. Our own little
feedback loop. And that these 25 people are not in my feedback loop.
But….still. How come I have only heard of a couple of these
luminaries.
I want to know where my people are. Andrew Sullivan: a slightly hysterical, Catholic, conservative, gay, Obama fan. Tom Ricks: the writer of Fiasco who pretty much defined the first half of the Iraq war. 3quarksdaily: who always have something interesting to say. Te-Nehisi Coates: a black blogger who I find fascinating. Or Alyssa Rosenberg where I found this great Superbowl related video:
I think we are all more firmly ensconced in our bubbles than we like to believe. I’m fascinated at what I find when I step out of my orbit just a bit. And when I look at the world of digital commerce (a bubble that I bet Forbes frequents) I am always flabbergasted ant all that is going on that I have no clue about. Video games alone are this vast part of developed world culture that I know nothing about, let alone knowing somehting about the industry that produces the games.
I want to stay au courant but man, it is hard!