J. Alfred Prufrock, Zeldman, blogging, and I still haven’t found what I’m looking for

Bloggers come and go in the land Oz; talking about a Midsummer Santa Claus

If you didn’t peak in high school, there was the consolation (myth?) that you’ll rock it (find happiness) later on.

Listening to The Big Web Show #49 at 5by5.tv/bigwebshow/49, I had to chuckle when Jeffrey Zeldman whines to Dan Benjamin about how “popularity” drives us now more than ever. Today, if your blog post doesn’t get picked up by techmeme, Google, or Ashton Kusher (@aplusk), you just won’t feel really good about what you’re doing.

“Popularity matters profoundly,” Zeldman bemoans. Popularity – not quality, Zeldman argues, is what determines your happiness because the advertisers, sponsors, and opportunities go almost exclusively to the winners of the popularity contest. Niche, in other words, should be awesome when you own it. But, frankly, as Zeldman and Benjamin admit, niche just doesn’t play out to our expectations. It doesn’t pay either.

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U2 – I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For

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