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Who's writing the front page articles?
- Thread starter HarryPot
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No, or else there would have been a sloppy front page story about it.
From the FAQ:What mission statement?
There's always wiggle room for certain things to be relevant or not, but when a story is only tenuously connected to the site's mission statement, and greatly resembles a 3:00 o'clock infomercial, one really doesn't have to pause very long to deduce that something is rotten in Denmark.
Fine, then have it on the iOS blog or some other section of the site that doesn't fit the mission statement quoted above. The transition to tablet computing doesn't just end with rural America's love affair with car crashes. Are we going to get articles about how nurses, doctors, lawyers, judges, architects, construction crews, telecom workers, engineers, biologists, etc are using their iPads? Does every tenuous connection earn the writer carte blanche authority to abandon common sense?
I think this poster explained it best in the original thread:
No, you are over ascribing the nature of my criticism. MacRumors publishes things that I have no interest in almost daily. I'm not a shareholder so I really don't take too much interest in earnings reports or quarterly projections, for example. There are lots of topics covered on the front page that really don't interest me at all, so I take a passing glance and move on, maybe reading a few lines at the most.
But, and this is important so please follow me, they are relevant to the site. They are in keeping with the stated purpose of the front page. I'm not some immature child who's whining about not getting 100% of the content he'd like every second of every day.
I'm criticizing the writers who can't even manage to stay within the stated boundaries of their own publication. Would you bother to read the NY Times if every other headline was a tabloid-esque expose? No, it wouldn't be in keeping with what people expect from that publication. The same is true here. I don't want to see pictures of camel toe on the front page of the NY Times any more than I want to read "101 new uses for your iPad-and new colors for Summer!" on the front page of MacRumors. That's what this is about.
I did, and while very fascinating, I'm in no danger of caring enough to concern myself with the WWIC problem. This is a last-ditch effort on my part to show Arn the folly of his (mis)trust in this writer's abilities. I assume he's going to ignore me, as he rightly should if he thinks I'm completely wrong. When the time comes I will just join the ranks of attrition and find superior sources of information elsewhere.
And to the armchair psychologist practicing in this thread, most of the people who have been vocal about this writer have no interest in being writers because we have plenty of other professional responsibilities to handle. Merely because we can do something better than another doesn't mean we must do it in all instances. Just because this is the internet, doesn't mean we've left the idea of comparative advantage behind.
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Ask yourself, how many people constantly criticising Jordan have applied to become a writer...?
Then ask yourself does envy play in to any of this continued criticism?
Seems again the same old people complaining, I'd be extremely interested to know if they've applied to be a writer.
It's also funny, anyone who complimented Jordan on his article was down voted.
Your daily jackass.
Me.
You haven't been a member of MR long enough to know what it used to be like. People don't understand that MR got to what it is today by doing the same thing they did for over 10 years. Also, I could write better material than Jordan can, and I never applied to be a writer. Just saying.
You must have missed the rolling eyes. It was sarcasm: absolutely nobody (other than maybe you) is amazed by your ability to continue participating at the site. No app is needed.
No. You are not the arbiter of what is and is not news. I asked you if you had read Paul Ford's blog post; yours is a classic case of WWIC.
It's not a mission statement. This is more WWIC: you think you have the "right" way for this site to be set up, and you've been waiting for them to consult you.
If there are compelling and interesting stories about transitions in those professions, I would definitely like to see articles in MR. I'd particularly be interested in use cases for doctors and lawyers, but others may be interested in other professions.
If you're not interested in those [hypothetical] articles, I suggest you ignore them. But being upset that you weren't consulted about where articles should appear on the website sound rather silly.
No.
BTW: talking about car crashes is really missing the point. The story really isn't about NASCAR or any particular sport; it's about how a reporter organizes all the data he will needs so he can call it up in a few seconds on a live telecast. Your like or dislike over any particular sport is rather meaningless. For the record, I have no particular interest in NASCAR, but I'm tremendously interested in how a reporter organizes himself for a multi-hour live event in that challenging environment.
...and you feel you are entitled to get stories daily that you are highly interested in. This is the quintessence of WWIC.
No. I'm guessing you are an adult.
You're criticizing the website for failing to stay within what you believe are the boundaries. For what it's worth (FWIW), I categorically disagree with your assessment.
That's an interesting choice. The NYT lost me a long time ago. They categorically fail to deliver "All the news that's fit to print." But I didn't bother complaining to anyone; I just left. I will drill down to a small number of articles on their website, but I cannot use the NYT as a source of news.
Do you see the difference between what I did with the NYT and what you are doing here?
Incorrect. Your entire message here reeks of WWIC.
Could we please consult with you on a question: exactly what sites do you think are superior sources of information?
I'm still wondering why you think that anyone suggesting that you leave must therefore be a sycophant.
I think you need a new one.
I really don't want to get into this with you, and I especially don't want to be psychoanalyzed by a stranger on the internet. If that's what you believe about me, fine, but I can tell you right now that it's not accurate.
I've provided plenty of direct and concrete criticism about Jordan's writing, and if you aren't interested in the merits of that discussion, then you don't have to have it with me.
As has been repeated, over and over again by people besides myself, an interest story does not make an adequate front page article; no one is claiming the article is devoid of any useful information. If you can't get past this basic point, then there's no need for further discussion.
No, I don't think I'm entitled to that. I do think I'm entitled to read stories that are at least competently chosen, composed, edited, and appropriately placed. If a self-titled news site can't do that, then it has no business using that moniker for itself.
Yes, I do. You had a smidge more apathy than I do. Don't worry, I'll catch up to you soon.
These days? Twitter. Given that this site's web traffic is at a 2-year low, it seems I'm not alone in that assessment.
That's not what makes one a sycophant; an inability to call a spade a spade is what makes one a sycophant. One does not need to turn a blind eye to obvious failings to be a supporter, but that is frequently the reaction posters here have when someone has the audacity to suggest that the status quo might not be the best.
Again, this is the quintessence of WWIC. You think you know what articles have "useful information" and which belong on the front page. But it's just your personal opinion; you do not have the "truth" about either of these things.
Again, your thoughts of entitlement is the essence of WWIC.
No. You missed it: I didn't think my assessment of the NYT was some fundamental truth. Others are free to disagree with my assessment, and I don't use labels to describe people who disagree with me. I didn't ever publicly complain about the NYT. I just left.
Do you now understand the difference?
That's an impossibly vague answer. What exact usage of Twitter do you think would give one a superior source of information to MR?
So someone who disagrees with your dogmatic assessment of the "truth" is a sycophant? Really?
It's not possible that someone just disagrees with you?
Also note: your statement Of course I expect that some chorus of sycophantic posters will respond by saying, "well then just leave; no one is telling you to keep reading." is essentially labeling fellow participants in the discussion. Please don't do that.
I agree. It's up to Arn to calculate what writing style and choice of content will best accomplish his goals, and it may be that I have outlived my days as part of the target demographic. Nonetheless, I'd like Arn to know I support this site mainly because its style seems to attract interesting and well-informed posts from readers I respect. If changes in style drive these people away, puff pieces on iPads at NASCAR won't be sufficient to maintain my interest.
I am a writer for another site and have been asked by Arn to write for MR. Does that give me the license to criticize as much as I like?
I do agree with others that it would be in order to filter out some of the articles. Quantity is not the key here, quality is. Of course, from a writer's standpoint, quantity is what bring the bread to the table, so it can be tempting to write about anything Apple related.
It should also be kept in mind that Apple from 6 years ago is not today's Apple. 6 years ago, it was probably big news for the Apple community if an Apple product was used to make something faster. Nowadays, on the other hand, you can make up a countless amount of stories from that. I think it would be better to leave the not-so-interesting stuff out and only publish stories if the Apple product is making something really significant (like the use of iPad in flight cabins).
I suspect that "interesting" will always be in the eye of the beholder. AFAICT, the big shift for the use of iPads on the flight deck is the change in government regulations to allow electronic flight charts to completely displace the printed ones. All of the spiffy real-time displays that flight crews can do on their iPads have been doable for years with dedicated avionics displays. The real difference with the iPad is that those functions can now be done 2 or more orders of magnitude cheaper with tablet computers. But I suspect that cheaper is like faster for many people: rather uninteresting.
For me, the most interesting recent development with iPads was Panic Software's AirPreview: real-time preview on the iPad for the Mac app Coda 2. The iPad app is purely optional; preview can still be run on the Mac. However, the use of preview (if it works correctly) could definitely streamline HTML coding. The developer of Scrivener has suggested a similar kind of Mac-iPad fluid coupling for their new iOS product:
A personal app is no longer something that can run on a single kind of computer. Syncing and re-configuration can happen on the fly and should be completely transparent to the user. Perhaps such things have already happened with other portable computers, but I haven't heard about them (and that would be a topic for a writer of this hypothetical article to investigate).
Would such an article be interesting to the masses? I don't know. It would seemingly have broader appeal than one about iPad avionic displays. I suspect more MR readers would be interested in software that can simultaneously interact with multiple computers than iOS apps for pilots. But (AFAICT) no stories on this topic were published with Panic's announcement of Coda 2.
What is the purpose of the front page now, is it to give us the latest rumors or to sell us Apple products? It seems to be more of the latter now. I am seeing more Apple press releases and iPad product announcements that would be better suited on engadget. If the goal is to get away from giving us hard rumors just say so. If you want to become more of a Apple news reporting site that is fine but don't claim to be one thing and then throw useless front page stories that really don't have any substance.
I didn't know guessing rumors was easy. That however is the concept of this website.
Hahahahahahaha, I miss Andrew. It's been quite a while since I updated that particular 'about me' page.Well, we can't all be 'The Ron Jeremy ofinternet weatherApple rumors porn'.
I think nobody is perfect and the same applies to anything else such as this site, I think the strength of this site is its forum section which I can only recommend or praise however like anything else this site also needs to work on something and while I think that some of the front page articles are somewhat redundant.
I also think the only way for the author to learn as to what is important is to take in such critisicm and learn to what interest the most people and maybe change his style of writing a bit.
I also think the only way for the author to learn as to what is important is to take in such critisicm and learn to what interest the most people and maybe change his style of writing a bit.
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And here lies the lamentable truth.
Is it right for the Frog to ask the Scorpion to change, let alone expect it?
Well, we can't all be 'The Ron Jeremy ofinternet weatherApple rumors porn'.
I'm thinking tech writer might not be the proper outlet for him.
Fact is. There has been very little coming out of Apple,Inc. lately. It's the truth and we must accept it.
In the interim I'm guessing finding appropriate stuff is going to be hard to find.
Wait until next week.
[edit] make that the week of June 3rd.
[/edit]
In the interim I'm guessing finding appropriate stuff is going to be hard to find.
Wait until next week.
[edit] make that the week of June 3rd.
[/edit]
It's okay, the articles you write aren't even rumors. They're press releases for apps we don't care about (Facebook picture app, angry birds 'birdiverse', etc.
Oh, and silly Nascar. Thanks for keeping the point of MR relevant.
Let's keep this tame...
I would prefer that the front page be only for rumors, however, if arn and company only posted that we'd see a new article only every few days, keeping up a site as large as MR requires more. In order to keep the ad revenue flowing and viewership up, news articles must be included. And among those a few "human interest pieces" will slip in. I see this as MR expanding its purpose and aiming for broader appeal on the internet. No, most of Jordan's articles probably won't be cited by other sites and news organizations on the rare event that happens, but they're not entirely irrelevant. I happen to believe they almost all belong on the Mac Blog and iOS Blog sections, but that's just me. Blogs are for soft stuff, and to expand my point, I would prefer the Mac Blog and iOS Blog not read like reworked press releases, but seriously, pick up a local paper next time you see one. They can't fill their pages without them. MR is like the "local" paper for rumors relating to Apple. We wouldn't have hardly any content if we only focused on what was eminently important.
Besides, to immediately and outrightly reject anything that isn't a "hard rumor" would be foolish. You never know where inspiration will strike. Maybe that NASCAR article we've all been hating on has changed the workflow of someone out there. Maybe the posts Jordan makes about app updates (you know, the ones that were posted before but he seems to be responsible for now) are very important to some people. Perhaps the post about the Spotify update can serve as a "finger on the pulse" sort of thing, not specifically invoking the importance of crappy streaming music, but as a survey of current internet culture. Furthermore, Eric Slivka's post about Ashton Kutcher wearing Steve's legendary outfit was possibly the most meaningless post I've seen here in a while and he's my favorite MR writer by far.
So if you'll excuse my wordiness and English-Major babbling, my point is that we need to maintain a broad perspective. MR has to evolve in order to survive and appealing to a wide variety of people is going to annoy somebody. Try running for office. The POTUS has to get more than half of about 150 million people to like him enough to vote for him. Concessions will be made, pandering will occur. Deal with it.
As of lately I've found that I only see the Twitter updates of MacRumors.
The Mac and iOS blog weren't much of my liking. I can't say that I stopped coming more often to MacRumors because of the writing style of the articles, I guess the lack of time is also an issue.
Maybe it is that I grew older and this "internet" thing doesn't attracts me that much any longer. But I'm sure I enjoyed coming to and posting in MacRumors much more some years ago (2006-2008). I must confess, I had another user before HarryPot, which I asked the mods to erase because it made me loose so much time!
The Mac and iOS blog weren't much of my liking. I can't say that I stopped coming more often to MacRumors because of the writing style of the articles, I guess the lack of time is also an issue.
Maybe it is that I grew older and this "internet" thing doesn't attracts me that much any longer. But I'm sure I enjoyed coming to and posting in MacRumors much more some years ago (2006-2008). I must confess, I had another user before HarryPot, which I asked the mods to erase because it made me loose so much time!
Fact is. There has been very little coming out of Apple,Inc. lately. It's the truth and we must accept it.
In the interim I'm guessing finding appropriate stuff is going to be hard to find.
Wait until next week.
[edit] make that the week of June 3rd.
[/edit]
How's the front page articles now kids ?
How's the front page articles now kids ?
Haha, but now people are complaining there are too many rumours now! You can't win, Macrumors. I happened to like the NASCAR piece (despite being a Brit), and interspersing "Apple interest" stories with rumours helps the website grow.