Today I would like to bring to your attention the trend that happens on many A-list blogs. More and more A-list bloggers are preferring to link only to other A-list bloggers. In many cases, even if an A-lister links to non-A-list blogs, they still prefer linking to and talking only about other A-list bloggers.
It is as if the majority of the web does not have any useful information that these A-list bloggers can link to, and instead the A-list bloggers, which constitute the minute majority, are the only ones worth talking about. A-list bloggers usually get a lot of comments, so it can be easy to find non-A-list blogs and bloggers easily if one wanted to. Google Blog Search also helps finding topics on different blogs.
A small exercise for you: visit 3 sites and figure out if they usually like linking to A-list blogs
Try spending some time on the following 3 blogs and see who they usually try to link to:
Chris G
Daily Blog Tips
ProBlogger
or check more top-trafficked blogs according to Technorati. In your view, do you notice the above sites linking to everyone on a regular basis, or do they usually like linking to popular blogs?
Do you like the idea of linking only to popular blogs?
If any of the above sites, or if any of your favorite sites, link only to prominent and rich bloggers, do you find that trend to be acceptable?
...paul (5)
Mark (5)
The Nerdy Nurse (4)
Dave from HootSuite (3)
agen888 (2)
Andrew Escar (2)
Anthony (2)
brad barfield (2)
Chris L (2)
dave (2)
I think that a-list linking as a policy is entirely contrary to the spirit of the blogoverse. To create some kind of incestuous link-fest where a select few quote and link only to each other and where their readers, who are no doubt subscribed to them all already, learn and gain little from the extra time spent shuttling between them is a pretty poor way to show your readers that you care.
What I want from a blogger that likes to link out is to find new things, to discover the far uncharted reaches of the blogoverse that I never would have wandered into on my own. I certainly don’t want to be a commodity that is passed around to maintain readership figures for the elite.
I have to agree with Andrew. I think the practice of A-listers linking only to A-listers is completely the opposite of what blogging is supposed to be about. As for myself, I link to any site or blog that I fell I can contribute to on my own blog. Right now, I’m not into having a high page rank or an insane low number on the alexa rankings. What I care about right now is providing relevant information pertaining to my chosen niche. I also enjoy linking to other bloggers because thats where I feel the community spirit kick in. The same goes for checking out other bloggers blogs and leaving GOOD comments on their site.
I don’t only link to a-list bloggers, in fact I mainly write original content and rarely link out apart from if something is particularly newsworthy or if I am doing a roundup post such as the reader-submissions for flagship content.
@Andrew,
I don’t know if it’s ever a “policy” to only link to A-listers (even the existence of an A-list is questionable), but there are certain bloggers who you can reliably link to based on their knowledge of material.
@Chris,
I can relate to your position of focusing on content instead of link-outs. It’s definitely hard to find relevant links sometimes. However, I do have a policy here and on my other blogs to add relevant links if a reader brings it to my attention.
Andrew, thanks for the comment. You have some good
points there. I personally, also, do not want to come across
supposed-elite bloggers only talking and promoting other elite bloggers.
I think many bloggers do it because they can get away with it. If
someone is at the top and not many can stop them or pinpoint them out
[the pinpointing thing that you, Jeffro2pto, me and others here at RA
Project are doing from time to time here], that someone will keep on
acting and pretending that they care, while only preferring to build
contacts with the other supposed-elites. A-list bloggers get a lot of
comments, yet those A-listers rarely find the time to link, most of the
time and majority of the time, to non-A-list bloggers. Sometimes I spend
more time trying to find a good site with some specific information to
link to than the time I spend writing an article, and many times, I end
up with no results, or close-results that I do not like [like finding
some information on some A-list bloggers who I know do not appreciate
others or have no useful information].
Jeffro2pto, thanks for your comment too, I really
appreciate it.
I personally sometimes have a hard time finding articles to link to when
I need to provide some information or some explanation. So what I do is
to visit the different commentors sites I have and do a search on their
blogs. Many times, I find the information I am looking for by going
through 10-15 blogs that belong to my commentors. At other times, I try
the Google Blog Search. I am subscribed via e-mail to some blogs like
Ronald’s or Chris G, so sometimes I search my e-mail to see if I can
find something useful. I like linking out as I can explain things
better, some times, if I have something else to show to readers to
explain what is going on. I personally get tired if I keep linking to
the same group of bloggers, by the way.
Chris Garrett, thank you for coming here, and thanks
for the comment too. I really appreciate it.
Thanks for explaining too your position on this too. If I am grasping
your comment correctly, you may be thinking that I listed your blog as
an example of someone who never links to anyone other than A-list
bloggers. Please let me know if I am misunderstanding your comment. The
reason I listed your site and the other blogs was to allow people to
visit those blogs and judge by themselves, by going through the archives
and by remembering the experience they have had on different sites,
including yours. Some posts there show signs of listing only to other popular blogs, while some posts on some blogs, like the “flasgship content” topic you mentioned, include other normal reader websites. I listed 3 of the A-list blogs [subjective, according to different people] that I really like something about on purpose, by the way; maybe I should make that clear in the original post. There are some good things about them, and some not so good thing about them. That is why you do not see John Chow’s site listed in this article here.
I know about your flagship content; I downloaded it too and I think I commented about it, not sure if you remember or not. I agree about the original
content on your site; that is one of the reasons I am subscribed via
e-mail subscriptions to your site.
If I may, I have 3 questions: What is your criteria for linking to blogs that benefit the readers? How do you choose which blogs are beneficial to the readers versus ones that aren’t? Do you think your commentors have useful content that can be linked to, as a replacement to A-list links, on articles and topics outside of the “flagship content” arena?
Ronald, thanks for the comment, and thanks for
answering Andrew and Chris too.
I see your point, and I see Chris’s point too. I agree with Chris about
the original content and not linking out too much because of not being
able to find relevant links all the times; many times, I will write
stuff that no one else has written from that perspective, and in those
cases I can only link to my own previous articles, if I really want to
link to something. However, I also wonder if Chris G’s flagship content is the only place and topic where the readers websites can be linked to, and not other articles and posts like meme posts.
I also agree with you that policies can help balance out some trends to
ensure that everyone is given a fair chance, or that someone is not
given preferential treatment based on their popularity. I usually avoid
linking to majority of the A-listers who do not appreciate their readers
unless no one else has the information that I need to link to. The above
3 sites are what I sometimes link to or talk about, by the way, more
than most of the other A-listers, when I do link to or talk about
A-listers on my personal site or with others. You can easily see, by
visiting the sites above, who has been appreciating readers from the
beginning, who is just starting, or who is not doing it yet. I think
practical experience and actually looking at actions can help people
realize what really is going on.
@Bes
Q: What is your criteria for linking to blogs that benefit the readers?
A: It’s pretty obvious, if I find content that will benefit the reader in some way, be it to explain a point or show a particularly good example, I link to it
Q: How do you choose which blogs are beneficial to the readers versus ones that aren’t?
A: The same way anybody judges the quality of content. Do they add anything to the discussion? Do the recycle old content or create something original? Is it clear and well written? Does the person give ideas and solutions or do they turn out content just to get attention or adsense clicks? Was the content created as bait or do they have a sincere purpose.
I would not knowingly link to a blog that I feel is misleading or low quality but those things of course are subjective. By the way, A-list does not necessarily mean good quality and not being in the A-list (whatever that is) does not make one low quality.
3. Do you think your commentors have useful content that can be linked to, as a replacement to A-list links, on articles and topics outside of the “flagship content†arena?
Um, of course, I am not sure why you even have to ask. Do you look to see if someone is A-list or not before linking to them? I don’t know anyone who does. How do you work out if someone is A-list anyway? I work in a lot of niches outside blogging about blogging, niches where they have never even heard of the technorati 100 …
To take your example of Memes, if I think my readers will benefit from me taking part in the meme then I take part, otherwise I don’t. I get lots of meme requests because I wrote a post on what memes are that gets linked to a lot. Most memes are about what you ate for breakfast but some have great questions. You have to set a quality standard. If you want to see the memes I have taken part in you only need to search my blog.
Hi Chris.
Thanks for the answers. My answers below may be long and may also go a bit off-topic to talk about the concept of money or writing better articles to attract more readers, though I am hoping that should help explain things a bit more.
1 : That sounds like a very good philosophy to have.
2 : That is also a good philosophy to have, specially your 2nd paragraph about not every A-list having premium quality content or every non-A-lister having poor quality content. If only we could have more mentality like the one you mentioned put into practice by more people, the issue of sincere and fake reasons for doing things could be addressed more aggressively, or at least realistically.
3 : First, regarding your memes, thanks for the link. I did read some of your memes before, but not all of them, so the links help. For me, I do memes regardless of them being about breakfast, though I think I have yet to get one that talks about breakfasts [I have talked several times about food and breakfasts on my site, though]. Also, you bring up a very good point, which makes me realize that the issue also falls into the realm of why one does a meme.
For example, I do not require anyone to link back to me or anything when they either tag me for a meme or they accept my meme tag; I actually link back to others without them doing anything for me, other than to let me know they exist somehow. Take our favorite John Chow, in contrast: him doing a meme or a link back by forcing, in the form of requiring, people to link to his site, in return for a link back to their site with the supposed promise that Google will rank other sites more [which is not happening anymore, I think, since Google is not so happy with John Chow], is a form of pure manipulation. That, in my view, is not acceptable, as it is like a bad pyramid scheme where readers benefit by actually paying upfront, and the only way readers can ever dream of benefiting is to have more and more readers link to John Chow. If many people lose actual cash money through offline or online pyramid schemes, they get upset. If many people lose time by doing stuff that they think will benefit them but nothing good happens, they tend to ignore it since the online world is still new and many people can manipulate others online easily at the moment. For me, even visiting a site and seeing an ad or clicking it for free costs me my time, and time is money. Therefore, nothing a reader does is free. That is why I prefer a meme with no interest to a meme with some interest, and a meme along the style that you run it more than the way John Chow would run it.
To clarify [and hopefully not confuse more] the concept of the existence of money and the reason behind things, another small example is the RA Project: maybe one day soon there will be sponsored ads here. However, RA Project will also have the strictest policies where no form of money shall influence our writing, giving us the freedom to even criticize the very sponsors we get if we notice them not appreciating their readers either online or offline, or if we wish to talk about them in a manner we would have, had they not been our sponsors. Of course, not allowing the advertisors to dictate our work in any manner, where we can do anything [for example, taking your example, talking about breakfast when we want to]. That is why for me it is very important to have clear reasons why one blogs, so that if money ever becomes any form of a factor in our blogging lives here, we do not change our styles at all.
In contrast to John Chow, you offer to do a meme and offer an incentive to offer people a free copy of your next ebook that is coming out [is it going to be on the same flagship content, by the way? I am still reading the first one]. That adds a personal financial interest to doing memes while offering both a meme and an actual product in return, without requiring anyone to do anything in order to tag you for a meme. That, in my view, is completely acceptable, while John’s approach of promising something while requiring people to do something is not. I hope that explains my approach on this a bit. Real appreciation vs. fake and supposed appreciation, in any form, and why one does things on a blog is of high importance, in my view.
Second, yes, I personally look at the reason why a blogger starts a blog and why they blog. Every link I link to, I check to see if they are A-lister or not, and I also check to see if they are popular or not or if they make money through their blogger or not [since, like you said, it can be hard to see who is or is not an A-lister]. The reason why they are blogging is important to me, as for me the sincerity, honesty and manipulation level plays a great role when it comes to realizing who is a blogger who values others and who is a blogger who values others in order to use them. For example, if I have to link to find someone to send my readers to when it comes to flagship content, you would be one of the first choices, if not the first, for me to link to, compared to a new blog that I see talking about it only to earn more readers. Similarly, if I have to talk about appreciation or any topic, I would prefer linking to a personal blogger who earns no money or benefit directly or indirectly, from the use of a blog in the online world, other than to be heard for what they really feel. I would avoid linking to an A-list blogger who writes about topics since writing about more topics or such topics will bring in more sponsors or readers to that blogger. The mere fact that one blog is not influenced by money at all and the other one is, tells me which blog the readers should read so that they can see some writing that is the least influenced by the idea of money. A blog post should be written since there is already a feeling there and one wants to express it: a blog post should not be created or written so that more readers of any kind can be attracted into coming to a site more often. Otherwise, that blog post and the blogger would have allowed the idea of getting more readers to influence their blogging.
I hope that helps explains things. Thanks again Chris for the answers; I really appreciate them.
Good morning!
May I take a moment to ‘thank’ Bes, Robert, and Simonne for their work here? I am pleased to find such a provocative blog this morning. Thanks to all.
In the context of A-List Linking, is it not a dangerous, arrogant trend for those who regard themselves as, shall I write ‘more informed’ than others, to separate themselves? (It’s like the SAG Awards….”You look great in your mirror, how do I look in my mirror?)
Enlightened snobbery is inevitable, I suppose.
Even so, isn’t humility the best policy, if the intent is to be engaging?
Otherwise, let’s go back to Web 1.0 and the use of static sites, if we really want platforms of isolation from which we can crow…..what is it that’s said about a tree falling in a forest?
Is blogging best-served, treated as a one-way street? I doubt it.
Andrew touched on how A-List Linking violates the “spirit of the blogoverse.” I concur. I really hope that those who are most influential with their intelligence and knowledge will find it wise to allow the readership to decide if their content is valuable. Otherwise, it’s insulting to think the Technorati 100 will only recognize each other and regard everyone else as inferior.
Let people separate themselves by making comments of ignorance. There’s quite a lot of it taking place on YouTube.
To me, ‘being approachable’ on the Internet is the key to having an audience. As video is ‘here to stay,’ it is separating those who impart information according to their strength, be it via text, audio or video. (Television networks know this and are pulling the puppet strings already…)
Bes’ closing comment about blogger motive/intent is ‘right-on’. Personally, I have a for-profit blog and a non-profit blog. I have separate (but equal) agendas for each. In my view, one without the other is counter-productive, long-term. I want to develop relationships with everyone who cares to know me, and I need money to support my standard of living. Therefore, one blog is ‘personal’ and the other is ‘all business, baby’.
Again, thank you for this open forum, the topic, and the inspiration of the Reader Appreciation Project. I appreciate it.
Oops! I made an obvious mistake to you in the address of my post:
my apologies to ‘Ronald’. Forgive me.
It’s okay. My alter-ego is Robert, and he is half-squirrel and half-chihuahua.
It interesting. A person appear really knowledgeable in your own field.