Passing this one along from Dave Winer because the sooner we think of passing along things we dislike on the Web, that only can exist with our attention, as viruses, the sooner we remove their influence.
So you *hate* the Rebecca Black video? Well by linking to it you gave her a record contract.
The link economy is an attention-based economy. Links, whether you signify hate or love for the thing you are linking, give it attention and influence.
Think, before you link.
(and yeah, that’s no fun, and yeah, I’m not gonna follow my own advice, so there!)
Oh, and… YouTube: “Death Metal Friday”:
This has been true long before the internet and “links”. Howard Stern made an entire career off people not liking him.
You said it! Howard Stern is some kind of precursor, some kind of set of patterns, for many who have followed him.