A couple of years ago, in a piece called Google's bias is a temporary anomaly, I wrote about the odd inversion that enabled web pundits to enjoy higher PageRank than U.S. senators and famous comedians. At the time I was the #7 Jon on Google. Not long after I rose to #1, a lofty but uncomfortable perch from which I surveyed the relentless advance of Jon Stewart. As was inevitable, he has now claimed the top spot.
My reign was fun while it lasted, and it gave friends and relatives an important clue about my otherwise mysterious professional life. But these situations really are anomalies. Blogs are active résumés. Online narration of professional activities will be the rule rather than the exception. PageRank and real-world reputation will -- and should -- correlate more closely.
When the dust settles, though, things will be different in an important way. Access to the machinery that helps us build real-world reputations will have been radically democratized.
So, hat tip to Jon Stewart. And oh, by the way, if you want to have me on the show to discuss these issues, I'm available, just have your people call my people.
Former URL: http://weblog.infoworld.com/udell/2005/03/23.html#a1200