Comments on: Climbing Bloggers Hill: Scoble on Getting A-Listed

By: Dan

Dan — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 19:17:00 +0000

I wasn’t trying to get ‘in’ with the ‘A list’ when I originally emailled Scoble, and he wrote that post about my blog.I think its important that the ‘little guys’ keep plugging away with good content and help each other out. Here are my suggestions, based on Scoble’s.[link]Let’s keep linking to each other. My gut says that quality content will always win out, no matter who you are/work for.In addition, I am really starting to think having a federation of bloggers who have similar reasons for blogging might do a lot better than each of them individually…

By: Kent

Kent — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 19:45:00 +0000

Mathew, I have to admit I made myself laugh a little when I thought up that line.Tim, thanks a lot for the props, but if I do become an A-Lister, it will be because I ride on Mathew’s coattails. I have nothing in my arsenal as powerful as his “fighting with Dave” approach.I will definitely check out some of your networks’ blogs.

By: Tim Stay

Tim Stay — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 19:38:00 +0000

At our blog network, Know More Media, our authors are completely free to link to whereever they wish, whether it be internal or external to the network. We want them to link to what ever source provides the best experience and information for the reader.Come leave a comment on one of our business expert blogs and I bet that they would respond with either a post or a link. They are a friendly bunch.Best of luck, future "A" lister!

By: Mathew Ingram

Mathew Ingram — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 19:38:00 +0000

A campfire would be great, Kent — provided no one gets out a guitar and starts singing Kumbaya.Nice work on getting links from Scoble and Steve Rubel, by the way — and not just links but a subscriber too!Maybe I’ll have to reconsider my strategy of pissing off Dave Winer as a means of getting traffic

By: Kent

Kent — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 19:25:00 +0000

Jackson, that’s a good question. How are things in Nashvegas? I lived there from 82-85.My blogging goals are probably harder to define than they should be, since my blog is only tangentially connected to my day job. I see a fair amount of tech-related stuff via my day job, but confidentiality rules and other lawyer-specific regulations make it important to separate this from that. That’s why I rarely, if ever, mention my “day job” and why there are no links to my firm bio, etc.So let’s start out with what is not my goal. If someone throws some money at me, I won’t be offended, but this blog is not about making money. In fact, I have turned down the opportunity to have some “house ads,” meaning directly sold ads. I may one day have ads, but as of now, it’s not a priority for me.So why do I do it?One, I understand and embrace tech thanks to some of my prior gigs (shareware writer, game designer, website developer, etc.). So it’s fun to talk about, and I think my experiences give me a perspective that adds at least a little to the conversation.Two, I did catch a little lightning in the bottle back in the nineties when I developed several previously huge web sites, primarily message board sites. All but one of them have been sold or shuttered, but I believe blogs are a natural evolution of the citizen media movement that, I believe, actually began with message boards. So I am interested in blogs for that reason.Three, I just like to write. I do it all the time in old media. Newpapers, journals, a couple of boring books that nobody reads, etc. Through writing here and getting a little exposure, I get to talk to people about all kinds of really cool stuff they’re doing. For example, last night I was simultaneously talking to the guys at Qoop about all the cool stuff they are doing and planning to do and interviewing Kevin Burton via email about Tailrank for a piece I am writing. I think that’s big fun.My plan so far has been to try to leverage my experiences and whatever writing and thinking skills I have to build a web presence that will allow me to listen and talk to other people who share some of my interests.I guess if I could sketch out my fantasy blog story, Newsome.Org would become a Top 100 blog, I’d have some sort of loose affiliation with some other bloggers I like (the Wagon Train Network perhaps), and we’d have a bunch of fun and invite others to come sit at our campfires.It’s no business plan for sure, but this is not really a business for me.

By: Jackson

Jackson — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 18:00:00 +0000

Kent,What are your goals in blogging? I have been at it a long time, but my goals have changed significantly (this last year especially).Just curious.

By: Kent

Kent — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 17:49:00 +0000

TD,My statement about the blog networks was based on the following:1) I have seen the network bloggers link around out of network blogs pretty regularly. Not all the time and some are better than others, but I think the trend is there. Mostly because if you’re in a blog network, you’re probably a “blogging as a business” blog (see my prior posts on that), which leads to a conscious or subconscious sense of competition for the eyeballs that (they hope) lead to dollars.2) I don’t know this for a gospel fact, but I’d wager that the formal or informal network rules for some of these networks suggest and perhaps even mandate that intra-network links take precedence over out of network links. I know from experience that some old media websites work that way, so logic tells me it’s likely the same in this context.3) I thought the whacked by the VP line was funny and needed to find a context to use it.

By: sheree

sheree — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 17:07:00 +0000

Thanks for the tips!

By: TD

TD — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 16:47:00 +0000

“And trying to get a link from within any of the major blog networks is like trying to go hunting with Dick Cheney and not get whacked. Highly unlikely these days.”Totally disagree. Some of them have tip lines, have you actually tried sending them a tip with a link to your best material? It works. Also if you comment regularly on their blogs, take an interest in what they are doing, they will notice you.It’s like anything else, just keep at it. It took me a good 18 months to gather any significant steam in this blogging stuff and I’m still a long, long ways from where I’d like our blog to be.

By: Richard

Richard — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 14:55:00 +0000

FYI, I found this blog post via Steve Rubel’s blog, so you’re obviously doing well with #6. Regarding #5, enjoy a game of TagMan when you need a break from blogging.