The downside of Internet/viral distribution
Over the last few days, this article (Is Google Making Us Stupid?) from the latest Atlantic monthly has been linked and reposted in a bunch of places that I read regularly. Slog picked it up this afternoon. Pretty sure I saw it on Slashdot also. And a few other random blogs.
The article is part of a collection of essays in the Atlantic Jul/Aug “Ideas” issue. The editors chose it as the cover article for obvious reasons - the same reasons that have caused it to be forwarded all over the place - it’s got a nice juicy provocative timely topic and title.
Here’s my problem: that article was part of a collection (the “Ideas”) that also included these excellent articles: Hanna Rosin on Section 8 housing and crime, Robert Kaplan on Rumsfeld, and Jonathan Rauch on the Chevy Volt. But unlike the magazine, where these articles trail along behind the cover article, easily discoverable, all the online linking, reposting and forwarding loses that association.
The net effect is that the lesser of the 4 articles (in my opinion) is the one receiving the widest exposure. I don’t know how to fix that, but perhaps someone can generate some ideas in the comments.
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