Boosting the signal, in my own tiny way, for all three people who actually read this...

[agilebrit]

Yeah, that "I Write Like..." meme?

Is advertising for a vanity press. Hell, I didn't even notice that stupid "how to get published" link. And, initially, he only had three women on the list. He's been called on his BS, and responded dismissively. I'm the last person in the world to scream about "white male privilege," but damn. jimhines has more.

Dammit, I hate being taken for a ride like this. That'll teach me to eye memes with a gimlet eye from now on. I've removed the badge and the link from my LJ.

In other news, I'm 650 words into the Framed!Werewolf story and still unconvinced that either the idea or the execution is any good whatsoever. And I have no idea where it's going. *grump*

Comments

[jimhines.livejournal.com]

It sounds like the vanity link wasn't there originally, but after the meme took off, he jumped on the opportunity to "monetize" his success. (I updated my post with yet another link on that detail...)

[agilebrit.livejournal.com]

Doesn't matter to me, it's still sleazy as hell. He could have monetized it by advertising something that would actually help writers instead of an outfit that preys on us. Shame on him, on a lot of counts.

[stephiel.livejournal.com]

I think that once the guy got called on, he responded like a jerk, which convinced me that the whole "I Write Like" thing was an exercise in silliness, all in an effort for him to make a few dollars off of the unsuspecting.

Perhaps that's why I don't pay attention to memes, except the ones on LJ, of course. :)

[agilebrit.livejournal.com]

Well, it was an exercise in silliness, as most memes are, but the fact that he was dismissive of people's concerns and then monetized it by linking to a vanity press is just... ugh.

I have the feeling that it's going to backfire on him rather badly, now. Bad press spreads faster than good.

[stephiel.livejournal.com]

At the risk of sounding cruel, bad press is exactly what this guy deserves. His meme was not only sleazy, but was exposed as a money-making scheme.

This is another example of "let the meme reader beware".

[flynn-boyant.livejournal.com]

Okay, now I feel a bit vindicated. I told my friends that I thought this particular meme was bs. What do you know, it IS.

[agilebrit.livejournal.com]

Yeah, having read some of David Foster Wallace's prose, I can say that I write absolutely nothing like him. I've never seen that many big words in such long sentences in my LIFE. And when the software gives male authors back their own names but tells Margaret Atwood that she writes like PG Wodehouse (even though she's on the list), something is definitely wrong with it.

What's hilarious is that I was in the bookstore today and saw some book about a road trip with David Foster Wallace. I've never heard of the guy and now he's popped up three times in two days.

[flynn-boyant.livejournal.com]

I was told I write like Dan Brown. My roommate's response to that was to laugh very loudly and then go, "....um, no."

Apparently, Neil Gaiman tried this meme and was told he writes like--wait for it--NOT Neil Gaiman (he probably wasn't one of the possible results sadly). Funny enough, it told him he writes like Stephen King. I'd love to know how many other mainstream, published authors tried this meme and what the results were. I mean, seriously, Atwood writes like WODEHOUSE. Really?! Such a wacked result.

[agilebrit.livejournal.com]

I'd love to know the algorithm--and if it gave me back Lewis Carroll for the Bunny from Hell fic simply because there's a rabbit in it. Because, seriously?

I got James freaking Joyce for the Cow and the Beanstalk. WTF?

[bojojoti.livejournal.com]

Four!

[bigsciencybrain.livejournal.com]

LOL I view all memes as pretty much useless bullshit so I never notice this sort of stuff. Woe. He does sound like an ass.