The 43 Things/Amazon Conspiracy Theory

Did you visit the 43 things start-up site? It is a folksonomy-site that asks users to choose 43 things they are interested in and links them to others with similar interests. Now a conspiracy theory has been propagated along the lines that Amazon was behind the whole project. But Cnet reports that it is simply that Amazon has invested in the blogging site.

What a storm in a blogging teacup!! Both Amazon and 43 things have gained valuable publicity if nothing else. And this highlights Dan Gillmour ‘s theory that “The lack of transparency in the world of opinion-making is an ongoing scandal…” Had we not noticed?