Sturgeon’s Law that states that 90% of everything is crap is somewhat debatable. It might feel that way when one is browsing through YouTube and is constantly skipping videos that are downright obnoxious, but when it comes to me and most people I know, there is a very wide variety of material that we all like. Over the years though, I have slowly weaned myself off of relying on the mainstream filter. I probably listen to the radio now maybe once a month. The first think I do when I get in my car now is hook up my phone to play my own music. I’m also definitely not opposed to mainstream music because most of the music I listen to probably is mainstream. Most of what I am exposed to is on the internet though. The internet though is also rapidly becoming more and more of a mainstream source. My stance on Sturgeon’s Law though is that it is highly exaggerated, and who is to say what crap is and what isn’t? Stuff that was a hit 20 years ago may be like crap to a lot of people today. I’m very stern with my taste in things though. Once I like something, I always like it. I can always go back to it and enjoy it maybe not just as much as the initial time, but still enjoy it and not just consider it as the old me. That goes for movies, music, food, clothes, etc. I seriously doubt that all of the things that I like or could possibly like in the future only make up 10% of everything.
P.S. The title is a joke. Not that conceited.
You’re right. Who is supposed to know what is good and what is bad? Especially in music, everyone’s opinion is bound to be subjective. It is impossible to say how much is crap – no matter whether you’re talking about the head or the long tail! For this reason, the figure of “10%” seems absolutely random to me.
I think you are both right. I think the 10%/90% thing might not be completely accurate, especially if we haven’t all been exposed to everything out there. But I think what he’s trying to say is that we only really like a small amount of things online compared to things that we have come across and didn’t like.
Yeah, I think Brittney has it here – it’s not so much that Sturgeon’s Law is referring to some objective standard of what is “good” and what is “crap”, but rather, that for any given person’s subjective tastes, that person will probably only find about 10% of everything available to be “good.” But my 10% and your 10% might be totally different.
Now is it really 10%, well that might vary too. Some people might be really, really picky and only like 3% of the stuff they see. Other people might like 30%. But given the sheer volume of stuff out there to consume, it seems likely that a lot of it is not going to meet your individual tastes.