3 ms·

The way so many people blindly adhere to him is unbelievable. He's like the Joseph McCarthy or Emperor's New Clothes of marketing.

helveticaman 18y ago
I've found his posts have been getting better. This one in particular qualifies as the elusive obvious.
- fallentimes 18y ago
  Some are gold (the one about his breakfast for instance), but the vast majority are trash.
  - bbgm 18y ago
    He isn't always right, but experience has taught me that he is more often right than wrong.
    - fallentimes 18y ago
      Being right about the obvious most of the time isn't hard. It's like predicting a startup will fail. It's much more impressive when you're right when everyone else (at the time) thought you were wrong.
Alex3917 18y ago
In Seth's own words, his job to remind people of what they already know. Even if you don't like it, I don't see why it's so hard to see the value of such a service.
- fallentimes 18y ago
  His ego, coining of vapor words and other people's awe of him do not match that description.
  - netcan 18y ago
    Ego is debatable. 'Coining of vapor words' is naming things, renaming things or creating concepts. These are very useful tools for assisting thought processes. We think with language.
    - fallentimes 18y ago
      That's debatable. Buzzwords or vapor words are usually not useful. Most of the time other legacy words exist to express yourself. Buzzwords (not to be confused with technical terms) are created to sell books or consulting services. It appears to be working. "clowd", purple cow, meatball sundae, ideavirus, his wrong usage of the word competent (the article I think you submitted), the dip, lens, etc Just because "we think with language" doesn't mean we should make up superfluous words on the fly. I'll admit, it's necessary sometimes, but certainly not at the rate people do it at. The point of language is to communicate. And like I said, it's not like I hate the guy, some of his stuff is great. The rest... He seems to resonate a lot more with you than me, and if his work has helped you do something better all the power to him (and you).
      - Alex3917 18y ago
        Actually I think that purple cow, meatball sundae, ideavirus, the dip, sheepwalking, etc. are very important ideas. It's just that the words Seth chooses to represent these ideas kind of suck. What Seth calls an ideavirus is the same thing that Dawkins calls a meme, and that's a word we pretty much use every day. I wouldn't be surprised if at some point in the future someone else coined a word that meant the same thing as sheep walking, but was actually usable without sounding daft.
        fallentimes 18y ago
        You can express ideas without creating ridiculous buzz words. And like I said, sometimes the creation of a new word (e.g. meme, kool-aid) is necessary, but not at the rate consultants and marketers do it. They're just marketing.

helveticaman 18y ago

I've found his posts have been getting better. This one in particular qualifies as the elusive obvious.

fallentimes 18y ago
Some are gold (the one about his breakfast for instance), but the vast majority are trash.
- bbgm 18y ago
  He isn't always right, but experience has taught me that he is more often right than wrong.
  - fallentimes 18y ago
    Being right about the obvious most of the time isn't hard. It's like predicting a startup will fail. It's much more impressive when you're right when everyone else (at the time) thought you were wrong.

Alex3917 18y ago

In Seth's own words, his job to remind people of what they already know. Even if you don't like it, I don't see why it's so hard to see the value of such a service.

fallentimes 18y ago
His ego, coining of vapor words and other people's awe of him do not match that description.
- netcan 18y ago
  Ego is debatable. 'Coining of vapor words' is naming things, renaming things or creating concepts. These are very useful tools for assisting thought processes. We think with language.
  - fallentimes 18y ago
    That's debatable. Buzzwords or vapor words are usually not useful. Most of the time other legacy words exist to express yourself. Buzzwords (not to be confused with technical terms) are created to sell books or consulting services. It appears to be working. "clowd", purple cow, meatball sundae, ideavirus, his wrong usage of the word competent (the article I think you submitted), the dip, lens, etc Just because "we think with language" doesn't mean we should make up superfluous words on the fly. I'll admit, it's necessary sometimes, but certainly not at the rate people do it at. The point of language is to communicate. And like I said, it's not like I hate the guy, some of his stuff is great. The rest... He seems to resonate a lot more with you than me, and if his work has helped you do something better all the power to him (and you).
    - Alex3917 18y ago
      Actually I think that purple cow, meatball sundae, ideavirus, the dip, sheepwalking, etc. are very important ideas. It's just that the words Seth chooses to represent these ideas kind of suck. What Seth calls an ideavirus is the same thing that Dawkins calls a meme, and that's a word we pretty much use every day. I wouldn't be surprised if at some point in the future someone else coined a word that meant the same thing as sheep walking, but was actually usable without sounding daft.
      - fallentimes 18y ago
        You can express ideas without creating ridiculous buzz words. And like I said, sometimes the creation of a new word (e.g. meme, kool-aid) is necessary, but not at the rate consultants and marketers do it. They're just marketing.