Maybe "peak oil" really is starting to drive the conversation? (heh, get it?)
Posted by Prof. Goose on April 25, 2005 - 12:27am
Check out this analysis from blogpulse.
Note how "Saudi oil" used to dominate the bandwidth until around the beginning of March. OPEC also has a couple of peaks in the same period (no pun intended).
Then, note the interesting correlation of the prevalence of the search terms "peak oil," "Saudi oil," and "opec." All three groupings start moving almost in unison. Even more interesting, "peak oil" actually becomes more prevalent than the other two! That was not the case before the 1st of March. Interesting, eh? Ain't technology great?
And what happened around the 1st of March? (no, no, not the naissance of The Oil Drum, we were still blogging a lot about it on our own respective blogs then though...)
I am guessing that's when gas prices really started getting more attention from the media...but there may be other explanations...
Technorati Tags: peak oil, oil
Maybe "peak oil" really is starting to drive the conversation? (heh, get it?)
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4 comments
Maybe "peak oil" really is starting to drive the conversation? (heh, get it?)
PDF version
4 comments
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Around Feb 20, the LA Times did a piece on peak oil. This lead to a blogoflurry: Feb 23, Kevin Drum did a big piece on peak oil - deLong did a few around then - etc., etc. leading to the NY Times getting Deffeyes to do an Op-Ed later on in March.
I remember Drum's piece...and I'm not surprised that it had an impact on web discourse...but I am surprised that the discourse changed that dramatically that quickly.
(but you're right, it's actually right around the end of February...)
Well that's the net for you - and it's one of the reasons that people are beginning to take an interest in peak oil - look at your own situation - if both of you had gotten together to write a piece for the civilian population, how long before in print and how hard to get anyone to notice? "Out of Gas" had a nice run, as did the Deffeyes book, and the new Simmons book will also get some press - but, in the midst of Schiavo, Jackson, et alia, how much info would really be absorbed - thus, the blog advantage
I called it a blogoflurry because this has become the pattern: one or another blog starts a story, links and comments escalate the reach exponentially, and then it evaporates in a few weeks or so - just like flurries in the winter
Your task is to not only to educate but to keep the interest level up - what we used to call "breaking the boredom barrier" (thank BBDO for the line)
That said, you are doing a great job - keep it up
When the heavyweight blogs start to link to you on a regular basis, you will be at the point of no return - the weight on your shoulders will increase, but I know you guys are up to it.
Thanks fatbear. :) We're doin' what we can...
(and it does help that this actually matters and we both actually have something to say about it.)