Perils of Modern Media
Yesterday I posted the first page of a book. It’s awful. It’s called Moon People by Dale M Courtney. It was self published, and it is clear that no editor ever even got started on it. It’s also probably equally clear that Mr. Courtney could use a little refresher on the standards of grammar and punctuation that come with the English language.
I originally found the link to that first page on Digg. Digg is a website where people vote on links. It can be a minefield in terms of finding content that is worth your while. It can also be a lesson in what is popular.
Occasionally, when enough people see something like this, they all get the same idea. In this case, over 50 people decided to go to Amazon.com and write positive reviews of the book. They mostly mock the author’s style, but they also mostly give him five stars.
Here’s the peril of modern media: as a result of 50+ five star reviews, this book… the one with terrible grammar and spelling so bad as to be unreadable… is ranked 860 on Amazon’s sales rank. It’s probably climbing too!
Amazon doesn’t rank based on number of sales. They rank on a proprietary set of factors. One of those factors just happens to be reviews.
Now, I don’t think many people are going to actually buy the book. Maybe… just maybe… if they’re gluttons for punishment they might. The real problem lies in our tendency to love a trainwreck. We pile on to things like this for the same reason that people like Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton are at all known quantities in hollywood — people like a disaster.
So, while I appreciate just how bad that book seemed, I’m going to try (and encourage you, friend, to join me in trying) to move on… you know, maybe read a good book… do something constructive… hug my wife. Good things in life. And stop loving the train wrecks.
no love for train wrecks here, either. good post.
I’d love to join you in hugging your wife. Bring her on over!
nice! I love hugs from you. And also you, Mum.