...commonly do so via contrived controversy rather than by reason or rationality. Discuss. - Matt Cutts

unless of course you are one of the authority/seed sites like techcrunch or scoble then you get to lead the bitchfest and get all the links for starting the argument in the firstplace ... - Michael Gray

true to an extent, but you'll notice that almost all bitchmemes happen on the weekends or holidays when there really isn't much news to talk about. i actually think bitchmemes are good every once in a while -- takes blogging back towards the raw and away from the streamlined news that many have become - MG Siegler

I read Techmeme occasionally and even show up every now and then. To some extent it gets a bum rap. The clustering feature is one of the nicer things about it. On the other hand, the "blogosphere" as defined by techmeme is a really really narrow one. Which is one reason I spend more time on Hacker News and Friendfeeds Life Scientist room than techmeme. I figure if anything important shows up on Techmeme, chances are I'll end up finding out about it anyway - Deepak Singh

I think many folks are ignoring the "meme" portion of Techmeme. Going your own way and talking about topics nobody else does won't get you there. It's piling on and going back and forth with other bloggers that is tracked. Yes, it's tech news, but it rewards me-too stories and flamewars. - Louis Gray

Louis, you're right. But, then, if "popularity" is what makes "value" then it'd be a sad world, a very sad world. I am, as you might know, for personal relevancy, a total unknown posting something about something that "I" like is far more worth "attention" to "me" than anything, say, Mike Arrington says. - directeur

Amen! TechMeme is bad at catching news, and then only presents a small slice of it once it catches on. The Tweetree story in the last 24 hours is a perfect case study. Humans could do a much better job than TM does. I imagine this isn't too surprising. - Dave Winer

Dave, True! But machines also can do a better job! The algorithms used nowadays are so stupid that a kid won't write them because of how silly they are. Let's face it: they're all based on the "popularity" parameter. There are standards for personal "interests". The dream-website would be the one to which I'll upload an APML file and which will filter and recommend content for me. I've spent the whole year trying, but the days when this will be fully implemented are definitely coming! :) - directeur

I do think that until we can develop truly associative algos, some human filters will be required. But yes, algos can and should do the grunt work. - Deepak Singh

I thought tracking stuff people like to argue about or that comes up repeatedly was the point of techmeme, not covering breaking news. That's certainly how it operates in practice. - Mr. Gunn

I think Techmeme can be a great way for up and coming bloggers to get attention though, because it is so easy to to game. Once you get a name for yourself, then you can afford to move on to better, real news-related posts. It's one strategy - I don't think it's that bad of one either. Am I wrong here? - Jesse Stay

Louis, then there's something missing, imho. Maybe TM is all it was ever intended to be. Then I want something that tries to keep me (and you and anyone else) informed on what's new in technology. - Dave Winer

Techmeme = Tabloidmeme LOL - Susan Beebe

Mr. Gunn. I think you're quite right, given the design, although it seems to be more of a recursive loop than carefully constructed arguments, but that's as much a function of the blogs tracked as anything else. So who's at fault, Techmeme or those bloggers. Probably both. - Deepak Singh

Just to agree with Dave, I remember early Techmeme as being the best place to get a fresh snapshot of tech news in the blogosphere. Recent Techmeme is more about the discussions (and arguments) over tech news. There's nothing wrong with that, of course. I just need to change my mental model of what Techmeme is, and maybe shift more of my time to other places that highlight what's new in technology. - Matt Cutts

I stopped using Techmeme about half a year ago and didn't miss out on any interesting news that would have been worth the time I spent on Techmeme every day. Tech blogs are so redundant it really doesn't matter anymore which blog you read, you'll likely get your news. For niches, just subscribe to these niche blogs you're interested in. - sebmos

Matt, I just wrote a blog post continuing this thread. Thanks for getting it started. http://www.scripting.com/stories... - Dave Winer

“In a controversy, the instant we feel anger, we have already ceased striving for truth and have begun striving for ourselves” Abraham J. Heschel - shayne catrett

Friendfeed is almost what Dave wants. We just need ability to talk to the database and pull value out. What if we could say "show me all items that have word "techmeme" in them AND have two or more comments AND have three or more likes. Display in strict reverse chronological order with no comments and no likes dispayed." why can't we do that? Because friendfeed needs a rewrite first. - Robert Scoble

Robert: ... or FF just needs to publish the mythical "firehose" of items, comments, and likes, and a third party could build that tool. - Ken Sheppardson

Robert, is that a re-write or just an API? - Robert Miller

Dave: (re "continuing" the thread) Don't you mean "forking"? - Ken Sheppardson

Patricia: Gabe deserves this. I was Techmeme's #1 user for a long time and when friendfeed came out I said he is blowing an opportunity to build us into techmeme. He keeps thinking people on friendfeed are stupid. He likes the elitist blogs only and took techmeme into being a Google News competitor. That was a mistake. As soon as friendfeed gives us a couple more features all will be clear. Oh, and I have seen a new service coming next year that will blow your mind in real time. - Robert Scoble

And if friendfeed takes too long someone else will do it. There is too much value to be left on the table here for long. - Robert Scoble

Patricia: NDA. Sorry. - Robert Scoble

and I have something coming out this year to shift the communications paradigm and render websites extinct as we know them..I come with this Vision from the Jungles of Belize...High Tech Retribalization...the plan is so simple but I have not had the honor of the IT Intellects to lend a listening ear..part of being a "minority" I guess...@bcultral - Racism Occupied

*shrugs* I like Techmeme. It saves me from having to subscribe to a bunch of tech blogs in my RSS reader. I just go there any get my fill of headlines for the day. - Eric P

Eric, me too but it hasn't evolved the right way. http://www.techfuga.com is a better one-page solution. - Robert Scoble

Matt, TM is not about "technical discourse". There are places for that, like Google Groups. TM is about the community, it reflects their concerns and foibles. More pertinent, perhaps, to criticise the community for turning inward in this time of uncertainty. Also, maybe there's just not much news to talk about at the moment. - Paul Montgomery

I still really like techmeme. Mainly because in the morning I can just scan the page and get an idea of what the top tech stories of the day are. - Marcus Beagley

sorry, i guess my "Real News vs BitchMeme" Radar (tm) is less finely-tuned than the rest of you folks. regardless, i'm still addicted to TM on a daily, if not hourly, basis. - dave mcclure

To be honest, often the bitchmemes have more value for me as an entrepeneur and blogger looking to provide a unique service or unique information that fulfils a real need. If people weren't bitching about poor search results, there wouldn't have been a need for Google to fulfil. - Andy Beard