David Wadler's Fame-O-Meter

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Fame sometimes hath created something out of nothing. She hath made whole countries more than nature ever did, especially near the poles, and then hath peopled them likewise with inhabitants of her own invention, pigmies, giants, and amazons: yea, fame is sometimes like unto a mushroom, which Pliny recounts to be the greatest miracle in nature, because growing and having no root, as fame no ground of her reports.

Thomas Fuller

David Wadler's Fame-O-Meter

What is the measure of one's celebrity? Of one's cultural currency? A research company called Marketing Evaluations/TvQ Inc. devised a system by which the size and value of one's popularity can be measured. They call this a Q rating.

I'm not entirely sure of their methods, but do know that I can't afford to test my own Q rating with any frequency. Therefore, instead of quantifying my fame with a Q number, I offer you my own system for evaluating my pop cultural value. I propose that while ascertaining someone's larger societal value presents an enormous qualitative and quantitative problem, divining a person's worth in the mainstream media marketplace is more easily done. It comes down to how often people talk about you and how many people hear about it.

February 1, 2001	The New York Times	A few silly comments of mine culled from an hour-long conversation on the dotcom layoffs.
May 2, 2001	Slashdot	217 posts (at last count) questioning my very authenticity. Granted, this is geek chic, but I think I deserve extra credit for being the actual topic of discussion.
December 31, 2001	ESPN.com	Sneaking in just before 2002, I'm mentioned in Jefferson George's fantasy basketball column, String Music.