] (Should MemeStreams have a welcome wagon?

Yes...

] Would it improve retention? Can it be institutionalized, like a jury
] duty kind of thing?)

Thats an interesting thought, but it would work best if it wasn't forced... On the new site I'm showing you new users who've posted something. There are ways that I can point you at people, but you have to be curious...

] (As a new user, am I "supposed" to do this?)

New users frequently do this as they get familiar with the site and find some content they like.

] If my MemeStreams friends wanted to train
] their agents to rank me highly without waiting for this to
] happen 'naturally', they'd likely have to bias their response
] to my initial blog entries, which would create a ripple of
] these memes across my friends' social networks.

I agree that there needs to be more control over the agent. Also, the agent needs to be more responsive to time.

] Back to "slow days." Some server log statistics would be
] helpful. Question: are low-post days also low-read days?

Typically, low post days are "bad news days." Basically, days when nothing is really going on in the world and there is really nothing to talk about. It happens.

Low read days are days when people aren't using the internet. Weekends, holidays... Days when people have better things to do then ask MemeStreams (or more often Google) to suggest something interesting...

If you want to do research on the server logs I'm happy to let you look at them.

] Is there any "harm" in doing so? Does it seem
] unfair?

Its a free country. I see this as good capitalism.

] Should the system make it easier to do, perhaps by
] automating it through an "embargoed for release until"
] feature, as with some press releases?

I don't think this needs to be automated.

RE: Notes from a Noteworthy Newcomer