Welcome to the fourth edition of "Zero Impact Posts" (ZIPs). If you missed the first edition, you may want to read it in order to learn about the many positive aspects of ZIPs and thus the inspiration for the ZIP series.
According to Jotter, over the previous week, there were 1511 posts, of which 1477 received recommendations and 860 had more than 9 commenters.
And according to me, there were only 5 posts that had no recommendations and no comments. They had absolutely zero impact, as judged by these measures. See below for a table with these rare and remarkable posts.
ZIPs: March 17-23, 2012
Notes: To see the first first few lines of any post, just hover your cursor over the link to the post. The "com" count excludes the "Tip Jar" and any additional comments added by the author. The "impact" score excludes the "tip" count, because tips are not considered in the official impact formula used in the weekly HIP list.
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ZIP that was Reposted
Here is an example of an author following the motto "try, try again". The first post was a ZIP and is among the ZIPs for this week (i.e., see above list), but some of the re-posts got more attention, as you can see below.
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ZIP that was Part of a Series
Here is the whole series for the "Blogfest on Art", for which part 6 is in the ZIP list shown for this week.
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This week's edition limns the good and the bad of the ZIP series.
Here are short summaries of the previous editions of the ZIP series.
1st Edition: Describes what's good about ZIPs.
2nd Edition: Investigates ZIPs from the previous week.
3rd Edition: Describes two kinds of ZIPs: unplublished and author-commented.
Here is a short summary for today's edition:
4th Edition: Describes what's good about the ZIP series (and also what's potentially bad).
The 1st edition explained that ZIPs are good, because they're never harmful, they benefit the author, they tell us about the Kos community, they're indicative of positive trends, and they have a poetic name. While this list provides hints about what could be good about a ZIP series, the following section provides a more clear description of some possible reasons why recent ZIPs should be highlighted each week along with commentary related to ZIPs.
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What's good about the ZIP series?
1) It highlights ZIPs, some of which have good content.
We are blinded by stats (e.g., com's, rec's, tips, views, impact, mojo, TU) and we forget that all posts and users are born to this site naked of any of these measures from which our contribution is often inferred. Within a 10-hour span, a post goes from the limelight at the top of the "recent diaries" list, to the middle of a pack of 100, and finally off the edge of the screen. Some posts may receive just a few viewers, particularly if the author has few followers. Unfortunately, these few viewers may just not be the right ones who can appreciate the content, whereas there are other Kossacks who would, if they were to happen to see it. Yet, once off the "recent diaries" list, such posts will not linger around in visible places such as the rec list or the HIP list, but they will be on the ZIP list, providing another opportunity for discovery.
2) It highlights ZIPs, some of which may be from new authors.
Some ZIPs may come from new authors, who may not yet realize what an honor it is to be on the ZIP list. Ergo, they may appreciate some tips, com's, and rec's for their recent posts, assuming the content gets your interest.
3) It may provide answers to various questions, such as:
a) What affects the impact of posts? How much does the time of day matter? How about the author's activity level and recency of joining? What about a post's title/introduction and the kind of content contained therein? What about the Kos readership?
b) What are the ZIP trends? Are ZIPs on the increase or decrease? Why? What does it say about the Kos community and civilization at large?
c) What's the best way to measure impact? Should the impact score consider one or more of the following: views, tips, tweets, likes, and shares?
d) What is the effect of ZIPs? Do they really have zero impact? How do they affect readers and authors?
e) How can authors and the Kos community reduce ZIPs, assuming that having fewer ZIPs is desirable?
f) Do the DailyKos rating stats and lists work well? How can they be improved?
g) What's good about ZIPs, in addition to what was described in the 1st edition? Are they a failure or a success? A mix? Or are they just are?
4) It poses deep philosophical questions.
Do ZIPs and HIPs matter? What should be the purpose of our time here? Is it blogger greatness, the connections that we make, what we learn, la joie de vivre, political work, something else, or some combination?
5) It will make you laugh, sing, and dance.
Regardless of whether you view ZIPs in a negative, positive, or neutral way, it is fun to laugh at the idea of them, and to the extent they're associated with any disappointment, then perhaps some laughter will alleviate that. Also, we can share a laugh regarding the whole rating system, its imperfections, and our PacMan-like desire to gobble up as much points as we can while avoiding the colorful ghosts. (Wait, who are the colorful ghosts?) And laughter provides zip (i.e., "energy, vigour, vitality") to our lives, which sometimes overflows in the form of song and dance.
6) It provides a meeting place for fellow ZIP honorees.
It is a meeting place where ZIP posters (a.k.a. ZIPers) can congratulate each other on being part of an elite circle. After all, there are literally more than 500 posts that make it on the daily HIP list during each week, more than 100 posts that make the rec list, but usually fewer than 30 that make the ZIP list.
Summary
To zip is "to impart life or zest to", and the hope is the series will do just that.
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What's potentially bad about the ZIP series?
1) It highlights ZIPs, some of which may not be interesting to many Kos readers.
From reviewing the diary lists of various authors, it appears that just about every ZIP gets viewed at least 5 times and many ZIPs have been viewed more than 10 times. So, it's not as though ZIPs were completely missed. Thus, when ZIPs are highlighted again at the end of the week, this may result in more Kossacks spending time on posts that do not move them in anyway. Some of this time could have been spent elsewhere in ways that were more meaningful to the reader. To mitigate this potential downside, readers will just need to use their judgement, as they always do, regarding what to read, watch, and listen to. (On the other hand, some of the "view" count may just be the author viewing the post to see if there is any activity. There's really no way to know how many times a post was viewed by someone other than the author.)
2) It could offend authors.
From the beginning, the spirit of the series was never to ridicule authors. Instead, with humor and insights provided in the OP and in the comments, the hope has been to provide support for authors. Of course, everyone would prefer to make somewhat of a splash with their posts, but if no such luck, we can all enjoy the irony of celebrating ZIPs. As long as it is clear that we are laughing with, rather than at fellow Kossacks, then I think we can avoid this potential downside.
Summary
In keeping with one of the good features of ZIPs, this series will try to follow the motto "First, do no harm." Primum non nocere! So, any related feedback is welcome.
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Summary
The above commentary is just a few pros and cons that I've brainstormed, but this list may evolve in the fullness of time and in the course of our discussions here about this fascinating topic. Who knows where it will go? You will just have to come back each week to find out.