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"Accept that things which become mainstream have to acquire aspects of the mainstream." I guess my take away was that when weirdness becomes mainstream it beco

"Accept that things which become mainstream have to acquire aspects of the mainstream." I guess my take away was that when weirdness becomes mainstream it becomes nothing more than a toothless affectation. That you should beware of the savvy newcomers who have learned how to adopt a style formed out of rebellion but will use it to push traditional objectives. They will push out the rule breakers while co-opting their mission statements. So yeah, it's a pretty standard statement about any fashion cycle. The point of the article then is to warn the weirdos, the divergent thinkers who birthed this industry to not let the handsome dudes laughing at them get them down. It's a cute narrative about larger issues. It's about the status quo's tendency to prevent really weird and innovative ideas to take off out of fear it will spoil their comfortable fun. The people who show up after all the weird work is done weren't their in the start because they don't take risks like that. It's a decent read. It's called "Beware of the Pretty People" and it is written for the freaks. Reminding them to keep on freaking people out, even when it's no longer the standard game plan.

mc32 12y ago
You hit the nail on the head. Some people understand that for something to succeed, it has to become mainstream, but there are others for whom the original otherness _is_ their identity. It separates them from larger society, so when larger society takes on those signifiers, they feel threatened. Like the fashion cycle. This article preys on people's weaknesses --like feeling that their values or lifestyles are being co-opted -as if that were bad in and of itself. If you have solid beliefs, what others do or don't do are irrelevant to you. I don't think tech crunch really believes in what they say but rather they believe that what they say will resonate with their audience and will result in more income for them. They couldn't possibly care any less about the principles of technologists --whatever alignment there is, is coincidental. Let's ask this, have they ever run articles which would drive down their readership? They may run something with some ironic distance, etc. but that's just a form of co-opting their audience.
- rezendi 12y ago
  "tech crunch," believe it or not, is not a hive mind with a single view point. (OP here.)
  - mc32 12y ago
    I hope the irony isn't lost when tech crunch is one of the organizations which is not too different from the so called interlopers it decries. In other words, if not for tech becoming mainstream and significant tech crunch would not have much interest in reporting about tech. so it's not that they care about tech, they care about tech insofar as it affords them economic viability. Do you see a 'tech crunch' of the mortuary industry? If embalming became the next big industry affording millions good earnings and made millionaires out of many, you'd see the same thing. And you'd see publications making much ado about nothing for reasons of self interest. Some times some of the things they would raise would raise valid questions but for the most part those publications would just ride the wave and decry the "posers" coming into the industry who didn't have to put up with decades of irrelevance and stigma --taking advantage of people's fears and weaknesses. Just let people try and make a living wherever they see fit. Sure, they bring 'disruption' to the old guard, but so what. That's life.

mc32 12y ago

You hit the nail on the head. Some people understand that for something to succeed, it has to become mainstream, but there are others for whom the original otherness _is_ their identity. It separates them from larger society, so when larger society takes on those signifiers, they feel threatened. Like the fashion cycle. This article preys on people's weaknesses --like feeling that their values or lifestyles are being co-opted -as if that were bad in and of itself. If you have solid beliefs, what others do or don't do are irrelevant to you. I don't think tech crunch really believes in what they say but rather they believe that what they say will resonate with their audience and will result in more income for them. They couldn't possibly care any less about the principles of technologists --whatever alignment there is, is coincidental. Let's ask this, have they ever run articles which would drive down their readership? They may run something with some ironic distance, etc. but that's just a form of co-opting their audience.

rezendi 12y ago
"tech crunch," believe it or not, is not a hive mind with a single view point. (OP here.)
- mc32 12y ago
  I hope the irony isn't lost when tech crunch is one of the organizations which is not too different from the so called interlopers it decries. In other words, if not for tech becoming mainstream and significant tech crunch would not have much interest in reporting about tech. so it's not that they care about tech, they care about tech insofar as it affords them economic viability. Do you see a 'tech crunch' of the mortuary industry? If embalming became the next big industry affording millions good earnings and made millionaires out of many, you'd see the same thing. And you'd see publications making much ado about nothing for reasons of self interest. Some times some of the things they would raise would raise valid questions but for the most part those publications would just ride the wave and decry the "posers" coming into the industry who didn't have to put up with decades of irrelevance and stigma --taking advantage of people's fears and weaknesses. Just let people try and make a living wherever they see fit. Sure, they bring 'disruption' to the old guard, but so what. That's life.