Kent Newsome on technology, music and life

5/02/2006


Rich Man, Poor Man and the Link in Peril

Steve Gillmor saying that people shouldn't link to other blogs/web sites is like someone who just won the lottery crying for its abolition on the grounds that it's not fair to poor people.

I've got mine, so let's cut off the spigot.

Blogging is not about your reputation or your traffic or how much of an A-Lister you are. It's about conversations about topics of mutual interest. Links are the way you listen to what someone else has to say. Someone who never links out is like the self-important guy at the party who talks, usually about himself, but never listens.

Many of my favorite blogs (Doc Searls and Tom Morris come immediately to mind) regularly lead me to other interesting voices. Why would any right thinking person argue that is bad?

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Posted by Kent @ 5/02/2006 12:16:00 PM | Permalink

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3 Comment(s):

I thought links were what the whole concept of blogging was all about to begin with? There you are, Joe Surfer, wandering about, and you find some stuff you find interesting, and you want to share it.

Right?

Not that very many people click out on links anyway, given my experience. But it's a sharing experience, an expectation that what interests or tickles you should interest those who think you are interesting.

If you don't link to others, and they don't link to you, what's the point? It's just one great big ego-trip. "Read me. I'm great. I'm so great that you should be satisfied just with my words. Ignore all those other people. I don't find them interesting; you shouldn't either. In fact, I am *so* great that everyone just happens upon my words by a happy Kozmik Koincidence, or by following the Jungian unconscious, or by..."...by what???

Is he also ranting about having other people link *to* him?

By Blogger Kate, at 5/02/2006 3:48 PM  
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Wow, Kate had that pegged. If you don't link, then it is all about ego. And...if you say it better than I can, I'm linking to you. How insulting to read a cut and paste (or a plagarized version) of your blog entry on someone elses blog! Assuming you'd ever find it. I say link away!

By Blogger Mike, at 5/02/2006 8:41 PM  
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Reminds me of the (silly) concern often heard in corporations about linking out to other sites from the company Web site. The mandate that we MUST keep the visitors on our site at all costs. Silly silly. Focus on providing good content (whether a Web site or a blog) and even if people leave to check out a link, they'll probably come back. Didn't fly on the Web in general -- blogs took care of that, and it won't fly now. My .02

By Anonymous Susan Getgood, at 5/06/2006 8:13 AM  
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