All right-thinking Mac users have long depended upon the inimitable As the Apple Turns as our primary news resource, so it’s not that big a surprise to note that in the wake of a Boing Boing link to the original story, first C|Net and then the New York Times follow up on the story. What is is it, pray tell?

Well, um, it seems you can buy silent tracks at the Apple Music Store via iTunes. Big deal, huh? Yeah, I thought it was funny too, but for christ’s sake: is it really news that you can waste your money buying worthless crap online, and that computer-processed catalogs often contain bogus listings?

I didn’t think so.

I’m linking because I think it’s a symptom of the increasing transparency of blog-media to Big Media. Let’s see… recently we had the amazing blog blitz around Mingering Mike (which also entered the collective consciousness via Boing Boing, if I recall correctly), and I’m sure others as well. Unfortunately for me, I’m pressed for time and can’t document them at the moment. I recall a light NYT story quoting MeFi users within the past couple days, and I suspect there have been more recently.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Well, it may be a good thing, although at the same time it feels kinda sad. After all, one of the things that creates a positive feedback loop for bloggers is the pleasure of learning about something, however fragmentarily and anecdotally, before the information has been vetted and professionally developed or reviewed.

The vituperative concerns of sites such as The Reg (Google and blogs) and Boing Boing (Orkut) may reflect this developing transformation. By presenting dismissive or negative analyses of elements of the intarweb, the sites seek to undermine the validity of those sites they dismiss or criticize.

Hmmph, I have totally lost my train of thought. How you people blog with a TV on in the same room is a mystery I’ll never plumb the depths of.

Huh? Oh yeah!

So, one possible consequence? By the end of the week, I predict careful, serious analysis of the possibility that Steve Jobs will be airlifted into the CEO’s throne at Disney.