The extraordinary pulling power of Conor McGregor can be measured in a few ways: by ticket sales, by pay-per-view revenue, and by endorsements. However, a much more instructive modern metric is the use of pornography. And it looks like McGregor porn beats regular porn hands down!
According to ‘Men’s Health’ magazine, during the McGregor fight, Pornhub (an American porn site) saw its traffic plummet by 21pc in the US alone. World traffic was down by 12pc, while here in Ireland, porn traffic slumped by 11pc.
Once the fight was over, normal service was resumed.
Pornhub’s data indicates that US porn traffic levels rose swiftly between midnight and 1am, hitting their peak around 2am. And, here in the land of saints and scholars, the post-fight relief was explosive.
Let’s just say Irish private web browser windows were busy. Irish porn traffic shot up to 174pc higher than average levels in the hour after the fight. This suggests a novel 21st century take on the expression “drowning one’s sorrows”.
If Conor can alter the porn habits of Irish men and women, he’s much bigger than you even imagined.
And here’s the interesting thing: McGregor understands the game he is in. He is in what economists call the “winner-takes-all” market. He knows that being at the top is where you make the lolly. This doesn’t mean he is much more talented than the guys behind him, it just means when you are at the top, you have to go for it and you can make multiples of the guy behind you.
So in terms of talent, Conor (despite the public bravado) would probably privately admit that there’s not a huge amount between him and other fighters below him. They are all good fighters. But he is the superstar and that’s the difference.
He has harnessed the technology, the media, the celebrity and, ultimately, the terms of the purse.
Traditionally in entertainment and sport, we see the rewards for being number one (or close to the top) as many multiples compared to those in the middle. Think of footballers; the difference in wages and bonuses between those who make it to the very top and those who don’t is enormous.
It can be the difference between never having to work again and a life on the dole. The differences between two promising footballers can be minute but the chasm between success and failure is infinite. One stops porn; the other watches it.
Years ago, these “winner-takes-all” markets were the preserve of entertainers and sportspeople; these days such disparities in pay and rewards are becoming more prevalent in many industries and professions. In the US, CEOs of top corporations now earn more than 500 times as much as the average worker, up from only 35 times in the mid-1970s.
The same goes for music, and increasingly in law, dentistry, medicine, architecture, investment banking, consulting, journalism, corporate management, publishing, design, fashion, and a host of other professions. Although the details vary in different spheres, the common thread is that technical forces have enabled top performers to serve broader or more valuable segments of their respective markets.
In sport and entertainment, it was always understood that deciding to try to make it in these careers was a bit like buying a lottery ticket. If you win, you could make hundreds of times more than if you had chosen a less risky career. If you lose, however, you earn much, much less.
Today, many professions work in a winner-takes-all fashion – arguably without much of the downside risk. So the best lawyers get paid multiples of the average lawyer’s earnings. The best accountants do likewise.
Look at Ireland’s legal profession in the Four Courts. There are those who make fortunes, and there are those who just scrape by. Even in education, grind schools poach better teachers and pay them considerably more than the local school equivalents.
The reason for this is the hyper-competitive economy we live in. The stakes in every game have been raised. If the best barrister can increase the likelihood that you will win the case, then he or she is worth the money.
Likewise, if the best teachers can give your child a comparative advantage and a place in college, then they are worth the price. Similarly, if the best carpenter will make you furniture that you feel will distinguish you from your peers, he or she will be worth the price.
It also exists in journalism, where the standout journalist – the one who is better known, a better communicator on TV or radio and therefore, more public – makes more per word than other hacks who might actually be much better writers.
So the winner-takes-all economy, where rewards are skewed ludicrously to number one, embeds itself in society.
Being a mere worker or an average employee is simply not good enough. The entire society becomes obsessed with being number one, having the newest, biggest, brightest, latest car, house or kitchen, because with winner-takes-all rewards come winner-takes-all possessions.
Technology and the dissemination of information have had a huge impact on the growth of this winner-takes-all culture. Networks are crucial. Years ago, word of mouth solidified reputations, today it is communities online.
Think about TripAdvisor and the impact good reviews have on hotels and restaurants. Do you go by them? Lots of people do and they recommend accordingly. So if you are better than the competition, no matter what business you are in, you just don’t make more than the others, you make much more than the others.
In a sense, this is the economics of the 21st century. Networks are coming to dominate the way we are paid if we are self-employed. In the 20th century, pay was determined by qualifications, years in employment, competence and loyalty. These permanent and pensionable jobs, the so-called jobs for life, are gone and in their place come winner-takes-all markets, which are transitory and competitive, but well paid.
Conor McGregor is an extreme manifestation of this. His business model is the model for many businesses in the years ahead. Those who are at the top will get multiples of those just below them.
McGregor understands this game, maybe better than anyone who has gone before him. He has pulling power. After all he is bigger than porn, now that’s saying something!
an excellent article.
one small oversight. Conor came second in a 2 horse race and still made 100m.
There is no question that the article is very very accurate in situations where one on one competition is the game however there are many areas still where teamwork is more important and a different set of rules apply.
Regards,
Michael.
The geezer is a cage fighter for God’s sake.
And U2 are a bunch of hypocrites who have made a so-called ‘career’ out of shit songs for 30 years – they haven’t written a good song since the mid 80s.
People who need role models (no thanks, I don’t) need better ones.
Subscribe.
My pay per view usage during the McGregor fight: 0%.
My porn (or porno?) usage before, during and after the McGregor fight: 0%.
Some of us have better things to do. Has Irish society sunk so low in its race to the bottom?
Lads, what are your own percentages? Be honest, brutally honest.
David, what about yours?
McGregor is teaching us one thing about ourselves, and sport.
And to me it has long been obvious.
In fact it has been shouting at us for years.
At individual endeavour based sports, we are far better achievers, than at team sports.
Golf is probably the most outstanding example.
But also there was Stephen Roche in cycling.
At individual sports, we excel. At team sports (with the possible exception of two brothers in a rowing boat), we waste a lot of time and money.
So, yes there is a lesson in McGregor.
Stop wasting time and money on team sports.
By the way, this is societally beneficial, in the economic sense if the performers stay tax resident in Ireland.
The McGregor ? Yes.
The Bonocks ? No.
And at least, McGregor has the decency to not lecture the people what to do with the tax money that they are paying.
McGregor is a better role model than some celebrities.
I am sitting here thinking about the quote [ Being a mere worker or an average employee is simply not good enough. The entire society becomes obsessed with being number one, having the newest, biggest, brightest, latest car, house or kitchen, because with winner-takes-all rewards come winner-takes-all possessions. ] And indeed there is something very Freudian about the entire concept. In fact that is the “rat race” described, in terms of the “rewards”. And I turned my back on that a long time ago. Never mind, the show. What about simple, straightforward happiness ? It is possible (even if it… Read more »
I don’t think McGregor really understands all this at a deep level, not saying that he won’t in the future.
But he’s young right now, and is going with the flow.
By the way, DAvid is correct in respect to the “winner” takes all economic model of performance. However, for the vast majority of participants, there has to be a comprehension that this means that we cannot all pretend to be McGregors. McGregor trained hard for his attainments. Anybody who wants to win like McGregor, will need to train and work like McGregor. The performance of Noreen O’Sullivan in comparison, is the results of an institutional culture, where people can get paid big money, and produce mediocrity. Is McGregor the antithesis of the institutional state ? A release valve for thousands… Read more »
“What is needed in this economy and others is Direct Democracy by which the sensible majority of citizens can enforce fair play for all, not just the ‘winner-takes-all’ club.”
No. Well intentioned but misguided. They tried that at the israel kibbutz places and it didn’t work because no one would take responsibility and the whole thing went no where and reverted back to single point responsibility.
Hi David, I have morphed into Adam here; “In a sense, this is the economics of the 21st century. Networks are coming to dominate the way we are paid if we are self-employed. In the 20th century, pay was determined by qualifications, years in employment, competence and loyalty. These permanent and pensionable jobs, the so-called jobs for life, are gone and in their place come winner-takes-all markets, which are transitory and competitive, but well paid.” This company intends to set up a market for freelancers using etherum blockchain to verify their capabilities and ensure payment and in order to be… Read more »
Hi David, I have morphed into Tony Brogan here; Winner takes all? The winners (banks) take all through controlling the creation of fiat currency. And in a winner takes all scenario one side loses (the rest of humanity). So the idea that the best talent gets the goddies is nonsense. The people who can live with mowing all the rest of us down and still get a nights sleep ie. corporate psychopaths are the guys getting the money. Talent required, Urbane, short sighted, blindingly ignorant, amoral, well dressed, speak with marbles in your mouth, patronising, condescending, duplicitous, inconsiderate, connected, pathological,… Read more »
Sport is an industry. The nature of employment is changing. Manufacturing is becoming increasingly automated and the middle class professions and work are being targeted by artificial intelligence. Sport in the UK is an industry worth £23.8 billion and one of the fastest expanding sectors: it holds 450,000 full-time jobs: 10,000 students graduate in sports science annually and the number is rising and they will join a worldwide market in sport. The Olympics/Paralympics are the shop window of the industry. The sports industry engages a great deal of science, engineering, medical and industrial know-how. In terms of industries: sport now… Read more »
>The same goes for music Generally, I agree with David that the world is becoming more winner-takes-all (and, for the record, I think that’s a bad thing) but I disagree about music going that way. Music in the 20th century was very much winner-takes-all , the superstars got ridiculously rich, but unless you were signed by a record company you were lucky to barely scrape by as a musician. Now, I see how my son consumes music, and it’s brilliant! Musicians (often teenagers in their bedrooms) create music, and market it via social media to a global audience who download… Read more »
Last week DMcW was for legalizing drugs, this week he is explaining violence and pornography as being an almost normal aspect of our society. Mean areas for philosophical discourse as a subset in the larger subject of failed modern economics There is nothing new in “winner-take-all” economics, previously the winners were called lords, kings, chiefs, popes, tycoons, landowners. Deep Staters all. Modern life with its huge advances in technology and huge increases in population provide vast opportunities for winners and of course the creation of more Deep Staters, to whom all monies eventually flow. The glorification of McGregor and the… Read more »
And a modern miracle is because of the the intertubes we can talk to each other from the 4 corners of the earth: and all the usual suspects do not like this at all at all. At all.
THIS WAS WWF WRESTLING
-> A GENTLEMANS AGREEMENT
=> TO NOT DAMAGE CONORS BRAIN
-> FAIR PLAY TO CONOR
=> BUT STILL AN ACT
PORN?
-> THOSE THAT CANT DO -> WATCH?
=> YOUR BRAIN ON PORN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhqx7yctQVk
By the same token the best looking girls should get the best jobs and not the ugly ones or the feminist ideologues. I’m sure David would support that too. Or if he cannot support it he would have to state it as a fact of life that we should all just accept and ‘deal with’. Yes, I can see that happening.
If you think the difference between the haves (1/10th of 1%) and the have nots is extreme; you have seen nothing yet. Wait until the US dollar is abandoned as the world reserve currency and the flood of US dollars into the US turn them into a Banana Republic third world status. Dave from Denver Saturday… Wave Good-Bye To The Dollar’s Reserve Status September 9, 2017Financial Markets, Gold, Housing Market, Market Manipulation, Precious Metals, U.S. EconomyBRICS, dollar collapse, petrodollar, petroyuan, reserve currency “Paper Money Eventually Returns To Its Intrinsic Value – Zero” – Voltaire Set aside all other financial, economic… Read more »
Useful to list the most significant observations said by DMW & the Posters & those persons that each quotes. And, remark if those observations are : wrong –> grey –> And, further remark as to the degree they are so wrong –> grey –> correct. THEN, WE HAVE SOMETHING VERY USEFUL ACQUIRED FROM READING THE BLOG. Already, I note some significant observations just on quick full reading of DMW’s article & quick sample reading of some posters posts, vis, D M W “…the porn habits of Irish men and women …” ; Note ; DMW attests to women as having… Read more »
Life is complicated Deco’s observation about Irish performance in sport is : replicated in job scene other than sport & also the contrary in job scene other than sport e.g. Irish Civil Service Irish Farmers [ I.F.A. ] Irish Political Parties Not saying that these Irish “teams / groups” are world beaters. But, am saying that they are world class in so far as to how effective they are at having control in their own jurisdiction. Anomaly ; But, not now the Catholic Church as : individual religious persons or as church as a whole These are loose thoughts presently.… Read more »
Mike, I mistakenly sent some supporting comments on your posting to Deco, I am resending my comments to you…… Last week DMcW was for legalizing drugs, this week he is explaining violence and pornography as being an almost normal aspect of our society. Mean areas for philosophical discourse as a subset in the larger subject of failed modern economics There is nothing new in “winner-take-all” economics, previously the winners were called lords, kings, chiefs, popes, tycoons, landowners. Deep Staters all. Modern life with its huge advances in technology and huge increases in population provide vast opportunities for winners and of… Read more »
The Noirin O’Sullivan Debacle is insightful, as a study into how long it takes for somebody who is utterly useless to be removed from a state position of power. The Debacle is further confounded, by the fact that the previous Minister (Fitzgerald) was highly superficial, and regarded every challenge to her Garda Commissioner as an attack on the idea of women holding positions of power. This implicates them both as being unsuitable for positions of authority. Given than Varadkar and Kenny tolerated underperformance from both, both Taoisigh are also completely unsuitable for their responsibility. Small wonder, that the only solace… Read more »
http://stockboardasset.com/blog/inside-opioid-crisis-youre-now-allowed-see/
America’s Opoid Crisis.
America is in deep trouble, from the societal perspective.
Maybe the people who are last in the list to be bailed out, have had enough ?
Is the consumerist dream falling apart, in the midst of stealth inflation, wage deflation brought about by deliberate labour market rigging, an overly complex state power system that effectively thieves from some, whilst spoiling others.
This is a serious problem.
Actually, David’s theme supports the case for Trump to be President of USA ;
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.
And, not the hypocrites :
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Hillary — “We came, We conquered, He [ Gadaffi ] died ; Cackle, Cackle” – Clinton
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Bernie — Evicting Landlord & Campaigner for Murder of Irish Populaces Pre-born Children & Infants — Sanders
The Bold & The Beautiful & The Talented [ B.B.T. ] is DMW’s Recommendation over Small is Beautiful . But, even if u believe that ur choice should be B.B.T., how about ; “From little Acorns grow great big Oak Trees.” ? . Perhaps, this acorn has big future ; . THE ARTICLE ITSELF minus Comments byHenry Makow’s Special Guests And, this feature hosted on Henry Makow’s Website today ; . HEADING ; The Best Solution ? — Ronald Bernard’s Bank of Joy . September 12, 2017 . ARTICLE ; Ronald Bernard has not just exposed the pedophile psychopaths running… Read more »
By the way ;
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That Link posted by Goldbug is INVALUABLE.
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It truly is 1 of the most important contributions to the phenomenon of :
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Internet
Porn
Sex
Sanity
Physical Health
Awareness
Addiction per-say
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Stevan Molleneaux is excellent as interviewer & opinionator for this :
subject
research
book
interviewee
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Here is Goldbug’s Link again ;
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhqx7yctQVk
Adam [ The Irish football team are talentless and characterless. I don’t watch their matches. They are a disgrace – hoof football is all they know. Serbia has a slightly larger population than Ireland and Wales has a smaller one and they reached the semi finals of the Euros last year. And look at Northern Ireland. I’m glad they won’t make it to the World Cup finals next year. At least we’ll be spared the sight of 40,000 pissed grown men dressed as leprechauns singing an insufferable loser’s song while their team produces totally shit football on the field. ]… Read more »
Meanwhile, it seems as if the house has turned against George Hook in Noisetalk. This is good news. Hook is one of the few left there who actually have a listenership. If they gang up on him, they can all continue with Radio Blueshirt, and the drift away from talk radio will continue. I doubt Newstalk need worry about commercial reality anyway. Yes, they ar a private sector entity, but their owner has been the winner from numerous public decisions down the years. This opens the possibilty that Hook will bring listers with him. What Hook said about rape was… Read more »
Fake news leads to big bucks and an endangered population.
http://www.thedailybell.com/news-analysis/warning-dont-take-the-drugs-your-doctor-gave-you-until-you-read-this/
http://www.goldcore.com/us/gold-blog/conor-mcgregor-worth-weight-gold/
Conor McGregor – Worth His Weight In Gold?
By Jan Skoyles
Goldman Sachs unexpectedly come out with a positive gold statement.
GS alumni have surrounded trump as policy advisers.
The Federal Reserve has 4 out of 7 directors need to be replaced. (actually the seats are vacant).
The Chair of the reserve is due to be replaced within 6 months.
Therefore trump has an unprecedented opportunity to mold the Fed in his own image as a believer in hard money. Is this the mega change coming down the pike.
https://www.lombardiletter.com/goldman-sachs-physical-gold-true-hedge-last-resort/16334/
SPEAKING OF C O N O R Mc G R E G O R . And, with constant reflection of the Banksters’ Scam Bundle . … ///////////////////////////////////////////////////// . 1. 1st in Sequence of Major on-going Scams . THE ROTHSCHILDS’ PRIVATE CENTRAL BANKING AUL BOLLOX . By the way, Tony Brogan regularly refers to nefarious overall control by the Rothschilds . . Rothschild is convenient surname for to refer to a now extended family with other names included in their Mafia Lineage of Rothschilds is dictated by ancient Tribal rule ; vis. Lineage passes through Females . Government’s Treasury is forbidden… Read more »
Typo ;
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1.2.4
Backed < 100 % by Silver only
Two prominent messages in the official news this morning. 1. The ESRI ( increasingly a proxy for corporatism ) have declared that everybody will have to work until they are 70. 2. IBEC (the voice of corporatism) have demanded that Leaving Cert results come continual assessments, in essence training people to be more obedient in secondary school – as a preparation for the working environment. So that they are well schooled in behaviour that is preferred for the bosses. Also, at the same time we are getting a collective pat on the back for “austerity”. Of course, that pat on… Read more »
Can anyone here disprove “mathematically perfected economy”
As an aside, let us not forget our culpability in the creation of the terrorist crisis.how long are going to discuss, and waste our time talking about bread and circus distractions before we address the real issues afflicting us. Central banking is a tool used by the globalists to enslave and control. The money is collected and used to pay for the indoctrination of our leaders and politicians who then carry out heinous policies against innocent peoples. In the meantime a blanket of misinformation is laid over the people to suffocate their ability to reason or think. Here is one… Read more »
Speaking of Models . There was only 1 Model in the hyped-up-Event of Charlottesville pre-arranged Race-Baiting Exercise by the Authoritarian Left vis, the alleged Car Yes, the only Model in the hyped-up Event was the alleged Car that hit Ms. Heather Heyer As u can see, the relatively young Ms. Heyer was no Model at the later stage of her life ; She grossly obese. . And, she died of a Heart-Attack Not from being hit by a model of a car. . No disrespect is intended to the woman by necessary highlighting that she died from heart attack because… Read more »
Bitcoin is being found out. The price in China is crashing.
If a peice of paper is backed by nothing of actual value ( this applies also to Twitter shares, unsecured bonds from Canadian banks, as well as funny currencies ), then the slightest concern at all….and there will be a stampede for the exit.
I have to admit of all the dangerous people who promised to deliver peace to the European continent, through a unitary political entity, perhaps Juncker is the most amatuerish. Louis XIV, Bonaparte, The Prussian Kaiser, Hitler, Stalin, all had cruel vindictive, ruthlessness as their chosen path to “union”. Juncker is merely like them, in his complete disdain for people, and his remoteness from their actual conditions. Plumping down to another four course meal, washed down with plenty of Beaujolais, as the unemployed Greek youth starve in the corner of an apartment, desperately hoping for better than another deal that secures… Read more »
@GEORGEHOOK
WHY APOLOGIZE FOR PERFECTLY REASONED COMMENT?
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-> HOMOSEXUALS POLITICIANS TO THE RIGHT OF ME
-> FEMINISTS TO THE LEFT
=> HERE I AM STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITH YOU
HA!
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.
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WHY ARE WE WHERE WE ARE?
=> DID YOU EVER WONDER?
@David McWilliams -> PLEASE PASS ON THIS LINK TO YOUR FRIEND GEORGE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF90RH_kYqE
#GEORGEHOOKDIDNOTHINGWRONG
#NEVERAPOLOGIZETOSJWS
Even though I am aware of this website over a number of years, amazingly I never looked it up until yesterday ; . . https://www.kildarestreet.com/ . . THIS IS THE “ABOUT US” PAGE . About us . Who runs this site? . For the most part, John Handelaar does. He is a broadcaster, journalist and web developer who lives in Cork, and who previously – for the vast majority of his life until 2005 – lived in London. . Gavin Sheridan is also a journalist and also based in Cork. He assists with keeping an eye on comment reports and… Read more »
But if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao, You ain’t going to make it with anyone anyhow [Chorus] Don’t you know it’s gonna be alright. Alright, alright Just as well that Manager Brian had departed existence, lest John Lennon have embarrassed Brian with the real mafia. . . Here with notable groomers is a man very famous for having created a distinctive model for his country’s economy laid out in a little “red book” allegedly written by him. But, not so was it written by him ; It was written by a certain representative of the most formidable mafia… Read more »