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canaries in the mine shaft?

A recent study published by Harvard asserts that 10% of the service’s users create more than 90% of the site’s content. Apparently, this is news to everyone involved.

Look folks–the numbers themselves aren’t surprising. But what the other media outlets don’t seem to realize is that the vast majority of content online is created by a very small number of users. I’m willing to bet good money that the 10/90 ratio is true across the board on every major online media portal, including our resident 800-lb gorilla. In fact, that ratio probably holds true in meat space as well; while we all pay lip service to social media and the rise of democratic content, only a handful of people are actually producing work for public consumption. From Facebook to YouTube to your local music scene, the vast majority of content will always come from a small number of people.

It seems like the geniuses over at Harvard spent unknown amounts of time and money to come to a blindingly obvious conclusion. And while I’m not the biggest fan of Twitter, these ostensibly foreboding numbers hardly spell doom for the nascent service.

YOU FAIL AT LIFE, HARVARD. INSERT QUARTER TO CONTINUE.

talk to us.