Comments on: Jerk = FAIL!

By: Robert Merrill

Robert Merrill — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:02:14 +0000

The hard thing about any “list” is that its existence determines some kind of decision about how it was formed.

For myself, I didn’t really know much about A-Listers… frankly because I knew I wasn’t one, and was never invited to any parties.

In the end, I have “my own A-List” and that is a group of people that I am interested in listening to… and who respect my comments when I make them.

One funny thing about popularity is that, all you have to do is attune yourself to something on the “fringe” and suddenly the popular stuff is so far to your right or left you can’t even SEE it anymore.

@ophelia_c Wow, that was very insightful and true: “So the trick is to be the guy who makes them let down their guard, and all you have to do is listen.”

By: Jerk Bloggers and CeWEBrities « Amybeth Hale - Research Goddess

Jerk Bloggers and CeWEBrities « Amybeth Hale - Research Goddess — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 05:34:25 +0000

[...] colleagues. Joel told me he’d been thinking about writing a post about this very issue, and I just read it here. I think there is so much truth to this and I’m glad he had the gumption to write it out. He [...]

By: Ike

Ike — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 05:15:53 +0000

Oh, I can think of one in particular that started down the right road for the right reasons, then let it all go to his head.

Thanks, Joel. (no, it’s not Joel.)

By: joel

joel — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 23:56:25 +0000

I’m not sure how to answer that, Jeff, as I think everyone differs on who they are, and I didn’t set out to attack any individual, only the practice of building a following through negative and anti-social behavior.

By: Jeff Davis

Jeff Davis — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 22:56:56 +0000

As a relative newcomer, it would help to know a source that would identify some of these jerks so more of us could monitor, then shed some light on their behavior and tactics.

By: ophelia c

ophelia c — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 21:48:19 +0000

Jerks in the old days was the really loud guy playing golf one hole before you. You could hear everything, all about his new boat, his great job, and so on. Now it’s the same guy only he/she has the whole world at their doorstep/keyboard. Most only infect a few, but the ones that get really big have one thing in common they didn’t say it “first”. Because that loud golfer is also a good listener. In between beers and hot dogs, he’s watching your every move. And taking note. He then takes that and spins it to his own use. So the trick is to be the guy who makes them let down their guard, and all you have to do is listen.

By: Shey

Shey — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 20:43:46 +0000

A couple definitely come to mind, no name mentioning necessary. Juvenile is a great description of these guys. Unfortunately, they have a cult-like following who only use half of their brains.

I disagree that we live in a meritocracy, if we did, these jerks wouldn’t get the publicity that they do. Status nowadays is heavily based on who you know and who knows you, not necessarily what you know and who you are.