

Dilbert on news aggregators - trs81
http://www.dilbert.com/fast/2009-11-17/

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ciscoriordan
It made me laugh, but it's too broad of a generalization.

Some news aggregators really add value. They drive traffic and stimulate
interesting discussion. They make it easier to get opposing viewpoints on the
same topic.

I wonder if Scott Adams has a chip on his shoulder because of the effect
aggregators have on old media, his bread-and-butter. I find it hard to imagine
XKCD labeling all news aggregators as parasites.

~~~
KWD
I think this was really more a joke about Rupert Murdoch than his personal
view, especially since Murdoch's 'parasites' comment has been discussed a lot
recently.

Edit: adding link to show a reference [http://www.mediaite.com/online/google-
rupert-murdoch-decries...](http://www.mediaite.com/online/google-rupert-
murdoch-decries-exploits-web-aggregation/)

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iamelgringo
I'm showing my personal bias, of course. I just launched a business/economic
social news site called <http://newsley.com>.

But, far from being parasites, social news sites expose readers to a much
greater cross section of news than a local newspaper ever could. And, a well
moderated social news site like Hacker News or a heavily filtered reddit is
much more useful than an editor could ever be. There's still a whole lot of
room for news aggregation/content crap filtration online. Social News is just
getting started.

But then, I'm probably preaching to the choir here on HN. :)

~~~
bonecandy
On newsley, I don't think making the description a link is a good idea. Digg
does this too and I find it very annoying as I'll accidentally click it
sometimes (for example, if I want to copy and paste it). I'd also suggest
making the description text a lighter color so the titles stand out a bit
more.

~~~
iamelgringo
Thanks for the feedback. I'm working on making some design changes to the
site. Changing the color of the description text is a good idea.

And, thanks for the input on changing the description text to make it
unclickable. I'll have to think that one through a bit.

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sharkbrainguy
<http://www.dilbert.com/fast/2009-11-17/>

A link to the minimal version of the site (no flash etc.)

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83457
It wou- ld have been funni- er with- out break- ing words

~~~
JacobAldridge
Yes, there is a certain irony in words being broken only because they need to
fit within the rigid printing parameters of the newspaper medium he's trying
to defend.

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philk
This was more sad than funny.

I like Dilbert but Scott Adams seems unpleasantly wed to the past.

