WP Tavern › Forums › Create Topic
Ted Clayton The New York Times has dozens of WordPress blogs, with millions of visitors. It should go without saying, that the fundamental comment-concept breaks down & fails, in the face of interactivity & feedback on this scale. It’s silly to debate the role & future of comments, without keep in view & acknowledging that comments can only be expected to work nicely in certain roles, on certain levels. It is very important to WordPress and Automattic, that commercial media-business have adopted their product. But these businesses are not about interactivity, or collaboration. They are still “broadcast” enterprises, based on the display of advertising-copy to passive viewers. Their business-model has carried over from the dead trees days, with minimal tweaking. Socrates tends to be defined by his opposition to writing, but he became controversial because he espoused discussion & debate. Socrates wanted Comments. Other orators thought they were a nuisance, and cultivated passive audience-behavior. The Socrates comment & debate model was stimulating & exciting, to the audience. Especially the young, the small-time and otherwise insignificant. Empowering the masses – by encouraging their involvment – is what got Socrates the hemlock. NYT has no interest in Socrates’ approach, but WP does. The dichotomy is not new … and it’s not bad, that it exists. WordPress’ identity & base are defined & served, by the presence of a simple comment-facility that enables the young, the inexperienced and the unpolished to get a start online. Hopefully, it is not necessary for WP to divest itself of this audience, as it cultivates new & more-profitable market sectors.
Ted Clayton
The New York Times has dozens of WordPress blogs, with millions of visitors. It should go without saying, that the fundamental comment-concept breaks down & fails, in the face of interactivity & feedback on this scale. It’s silly to debate the role & future of comments, without keep in view & acknowledging that comments can only be expected to work nicely in certain roles, on certain levels.
It is very important to WordPress and Automattic, that commercial media-business have adopted their product. But these businesses are not about interactivity, or collaboration. They are still “broadcast” enterprises, based on the display of advertising-copy to passive viewers. Their business-model has carried over from the dead trees days, with minimal tweaking.
Socrates tends to be defined by his opposition to writing, but he became controversial because he espoused discussion & debate. Socrates wanted Comments. Other orators thought they were a nuisance, and cultivated passive audience-behavior. The Socrates comment & debate model was stimulating & exciting, to the audience. Especially the young, the small-time and otherwise insignificant. Empowering the masses – by encouraging their involvment – is what got Socrates the hemlock.
NYT has no interest in Socrates’ approach, but WP does. The dichotomy is not new … and it’s not bad, that it exists.
WordPress’ identity & base are defined & served, by the presence of a simple comment-facility that enables the young, the inexperienced and the unpolished to get a start online. Hopefully, it is not necessary for WP to divest itself of this audience, as it cultivates new & more-profitable market sectors.
Name *
Email *
Website:
Topic Title (Maximum Length: 80):
Forum: — No forum —AI and WordPress Articles Blocks Showcase Discussions Events Introductions Jobs and Working in WordPress Podcast Episodes Site and Block Editor
Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
Email Address
Submit
Enter the destination URL
Or link to existing content
