Roll your own "A" List

From time to time you hear someone complaining about how “A” list bloggers are gatekeepers and other similar whining. I wrote about that here. Sure there is an “A” list. So what? The “A” list built the “A” list. It is their thing. How did they build it? By being interested in the same things, writing about the same things, and cross-linking like madmen (and madwomen). In other words, they staked out a piece of Internet real estate and took possession of it. Good for them.

The reality is that there are many “A” lists. It depends on the space. Usually when people refer the “A” list they mean “tech bloggers.” There is a huge tech “echo chamber” out there and for some that defines the universe. That is a small piece of the Internet universe and probably becoming smaller. I mean, how many new FriendFeeds can the world support? I happen to like FriendFeed, but you get my drift.

What is most often missed is that anyone can roll his or her own “A” list. Start writing about something you are passionate about and linking to others that do the same. Any topic imaginable can be looked at from a new angle. Pick an angle that sheds some light, and link, link, link. The six degrees of separation thing works; Chris wrote about it here and I did here.

It is early in web years.