Comments on: Respect the A-list, Kill the boys club

By: Li Evans

Li Evans — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 21:29:06 +0000

Karl’s so special, he’s got his own list.

I think though it should be the “K” list… since K is for Klog

By: Lisa

Lisa — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 20:28:18 +0000

*throws arms in the air* WOOHOO!
…sorry. Going back to work now.

By: Bob

Bob — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 20:25:17 +0000

Susan - By the same token, it's perfectly natural for those at the top to show resentment towards the up and comers. Michael Gray better be careful, he could be yesterday's news and Lisa could be the new A-Lister.

By: Susan Esparza

Susan Esparza — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 19:07:50 +0000

Bob – I absolutely agree, that was my point with the Gigli vs Serenity comparison. Unknowns can take risks that the A-List can’t. It doesn’t mean that the A-List is necessarily going to flatline once they’re at the top but they have less incentive to be great.
Starving artists do better work because they’re motivated. If what you’re starving for is fame, then you’re going to become lazy once you get it. If what you want is something independent of the fame, you’ll continue to be hungry and probably continue to be great.
Passion has always been the biggest ingredient for success. It’s good to stay hungry.

By: Nathan Holley

Nathan Holley — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 17:01:19 +0000

Good comments. My post to LED probably shoulda rested for a night or two before I sent it… the next morning when I read it I sorta cringed. That’s what 3 imperial pints will do for me (dunno why I always wanna post rants after drinking hmmm).

But the incestual linking / citing / talking stuff really does get to me, as an outsider who doesn’t have motivation to get within. I’m trying to learn stuff, not be accepted. I don’t have a blog or publish my sites but this is what I do 24/7 (no kids, no family, I’m sad) and it’s sort of a passion for me.

Signs of a young industry growing up. Boys club probably isn’t accurate. If A List is, it’s because these are the self-promoters and the hyper workers. They’re the conference attendees and speakers and shmoozers, nothing wrong with that I’ve done my share. But the young ones – the strugglers as Bob points out – they’re usually the most interesting and insightful because they’re hungry.

It’s like a rock band – how come the old Police stuff rocks so hard and Sting’s new stuff bites a$$? Because they get too tangled up in their own image. That’s why I want to see new blood “on the circuit” but to do that we’ll probably have to sweep aside some of the entrenched old guard.

By: Bob

Bob — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 14:46:37 +0000

Susan – You can draw analogies from any industry, but the bottom line is that most successful ‘A-Listers’, regardless of their profession, quickly focus on appealing to the masses. They lose the edginess that got them where they are.

It’s the struggling amateurs that produce the most insightful and inspired work, not the ruling elite.

By: The "S" Lister

The "S" Lister — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 13:59:30 +0000

"HUZZAH!"... it wasn't mentioned once in this post, and as a reader of this blog it is my civil duty to make sure it is. "HUZZAH!"

By: Susan Esparza

Susan Esparza — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 23:20:45 +0000

Jason – Thanks for stopping by! I’m glad you agree. (At least, I think you’re agreeing?)
My biggest problem with the A-list is that too many people listen only to them. Honestly, if you watched nothing but movies with A-list actors, you’d have seen that new Herbie movie and missed Shaun of the Dead. You would have watched Gigli and not Serenity. And lord knows, you’d be a poorer person for it.
The A-list worked to get where they are. They’re valuable. But they’re not the only ones with value.

By: Jason

Jason — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 23:09:52 +0000

Blogging is the most open medium ever created. Anyone can join the discussion, post comments, and get in the link pool. All you have to do is:

a) show up b) have something intelligent to say c) join the discussion and contribute something

Scoble was the biggest nobody in the world--working at a electronics store in fact--before he became the world's most famous blogger (or most powerful depending on which story you read).

I was down and out print publisher before I became "A list" -- whatever that means.

Peter Rojas was an underemployed Red Herring beat writer before he become the best paid/most respected blogger.

Rafat Ali was out of work before he started his A-list blog.

xeni Jardin was a conference producer with me before she became A-list.

Perez Hilton was a total nobody and now is a celebrity in his own right.

Elizabeth Spiers was a business journalist before Gawker fame--and now running her own blog company.

The list goes on and on and on... while the new comers to blogging cry like babies that they are not well known.

Spend 3-4 years blogging every day for 3-8 hours a day and then tell me you didn't make it to the A-list and people held you back... I *might* believe it after that.

What a bunch of cry babies... no one is holding you back but yourselves.

By: Kristina

Kristina — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 22:55:04 +0000

“And the therapy must be working because I’m okay with that.”
Lisa, thank you for making me giggle on a Monday afternoon. Actually, you make me giggle whenever I read your posts. Awesome!