On the web, Authority has always been about popularity
I was apprised of the latest episode of "As the Web Turns" today by my boss who , "I can't believe you're not weighing in on this."
I'm referring to yet another version of the same drama that's been playing for years regarding the question of what defines authority on the Web, this time as it pertains to Twitter. It involves some veteran actors too - Robert Scoble, Mike Arrington and Loic LeMeur - Silicon Valley insiders who, because they live in a bubble, tend to get worked up over things the rest of the world doesn't or shouldn't.
Loic, founder of Seesmic, posted a request that Twitter add a new feature, search by authority, which he (rather innocently if you ask me) suggested equated to the number of followers one has. The more followers, the greater the authority. Arrington chimed in saying the idea made sense. Scoble, who has dealt with this issue in the past in regard to Technorati's version of authority, countered by saying the idea is "patently idiotic." (I'm with Scoble on this one.)
Before we go any further please understand my purpose in this post is not to jump into the frey in hopes of obtaining mention on TechMeme (probably too late for that anyway). I could care less about this "bitchmeme," as one blogger referred to it. My desire is to add some historic perspective and say that, as it pertains to the Web, authority has always been associated with popularity.
Google PageRank
Take , for example, Google's term for its link analysis algorhitm used in determining how Web pages are returned in search results. One means by which this determination is made is the number of links one page receives from others.
In other words, PageRank is like a "ballot box" and the more votes one site gets from others, the more "authority" it has. I know it's not merely a matter of the number of votes and that other factors are involved. However, the number of links is foundational to the way the system works.
Sound like a popularity contest? It does to me.
Technorati Authority
Technorati defiines authority as "the number of blogs linking to a website in the last six months. The higher the number, the more Technorati Authority the blog has." Again, a popularity contest.
Steve Rubel weighed in on this nearly three years ago and what he said about Technorati then has bearing on the argument today.
"So, I am going to argue that links - be they Google or Technorati - have turned the entire concept of authority into something rather trivial - popularity," said Steve. "Does this mean Britney Spears is an authority too just because she's popular?"
Replace the term "links" with "followers" and you see it's the same argument all over again. BTW, , and I echo Steve's question, does this make her an authority? If so, about what?
Taking Britney into consideration, another way of looking at this is authority = celebrity (or vice-versa), and that's decidedly not how it should be defined.
How Authority Should Be Defined
"Authority" on the Web should be defined no differently than the dictionary does:
1. "An individual cited or appealed to as an expert" is one way Merriam-Webster puts it. In no way does that suggest a correlation to popularity. I know many experts in social media marketing, for example, who do not have large followings on Twitter. They are authoritative nonetheless.
2. "Power to influence or command thought, opinion, or behavior." It is conceivable to equate "influence" with popularity in this case. After all, one could argue if they weren't influential they wouldn't have large followings. So, score one for the authority = popularity crowd. Yet, like Steve said in his post, it seems strange to me.
Loic mended the error of his ways in a later post by saying, "the number of followers is in no way a measure of authority" and indicated his use of the term was a faux pas.
Still, he got his wish. Merely 12 hours after making that request, a developer named John Wheatley created an app called, are you ready for this, Twitority. And it does precisely what Loic asked for, returns authority-based Twitter searches. (UPDATE: I just found out there was yet another Twitter authority search engine already in existance, Twithority. Not sure why the need for two, but, oh well.)
Should popularity be the barometer for what constitutes authority? I think not. How about you?
Related Posts:
- Why the 'authority matters' argument is total BS - The Viral Garden
- What is Authority? - The Marketing Technology Blog
