from:
http://msmvps.com/blogs/jon_skeet/archive/2009/01/15/stack-overflow-reputation-and-being-a-micro-celebrity.aspx
Stack Overflow reputation and being a micro-celebrity
I've considered writing a bit about this before, but not done so for fear
of looking like a jerk. I still think I may well end up looking like a
jerk, but this is all stuff I'm interested in and I'll enjoy writing about
it, so on we go. Much of this is based on experiences at and around Stack
Overflow, and it's more likely to be interesting to you if you're a
regular there or at least know the basic premises and mechanics. Even then
you may well not be particularly interested - as much as anything, this
post is to try to get some thoughts out of my system so I can stop
thinking about how I would blog about it. If you don't want the
introspection, but want to know how to judge my egotism, skipping to the
summary is probably a good plan. If you really don't care at all, that's
probably a healthy sign. Quit now while you're ahead.
What is a micro-celebrity?
A couple of minutes ago, I thought I might have been original with the
term "micro-celebrity" but I'm clearly not. I may well not use the term
the same way other people do, however, so here's my rough definition
solely for the purposes of this post:
A micro-celebrity is someone who gains a significant level of
notoriety within a relatively limited community on the internet,
usually with a positive feedback loop.
Yes, it's woolly. Not to worry.
I would consider myself to have been a micro-celebrity in five distinct
communities over the course of the last 14 years:
* The alt.books.stephen-king newsgroup
* The mostly web-based community around Team17's series of "Worms"
games (well, the first few, on the PC only)
* The comp.lang.java.* newsgroups
* The microsoft.public.dotnet.languages.csharp newsgroup
* Stack Overflow
The last has been far and away the most blatant case. This is roughly how
it goes - or at least how it's gone in each of the above cases:
* Spend some time in the community, post quite a lot. Shouting loudly
works remarkably well on the internet - if you're among the most
prolific writers in a group, you will get noticed. Admittedly it helps
to try hard to post well-written and interesting thoughts.
* After a while, a few people will refer to you in their other
conversations. For instance, if someone in the Java newsgroup was
talking about "objects being passed by reference", another poster
might say something like "Don't let Jon Skeet hear you talking like
that."
* Play along with it, just a bit. Don't blow your own trumpet, but
equally don't discourage it. A few wry comments to show that you don't
mind often go down well.
* Sooner or later, you will find yourself not just mentioned in
another topic, but being the topic of conversation yourself. At this
point, it's no longer an inside joke that just the core members of the
group "get" - you're now communal property, and almost any regular
will be part of the joke.
One interesting thing you might have noticed about the above is that it
doesn't really take very much skill. It takes a fair amount of time, and
ideally you should have some reasonable thoughts and the ability to
express yourself clearly, but you certainly don't have to be a genius.
Good job, really.
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