Nerve Endings Firing Away

Every once in a while when we have a slow news day [or a week], the blogosphere creates its own raada (fracas). The desi blogosphere is particularly noted for inciting ‘trouble’ which often leads to much merriment for those not involved. But the desi blogosphere is tiny compared to the A-listers in the tech blogosphere. Robert Scoble, the ex-Microsoftie blogger who blogs at Scobleizer pissed off his fellow bloggers by accusing them of not linking often to his blogs and videos [he has since admitted to going overboard but is still cranky]. He particularly named Engadget for ignoring him in spite of posting what he thought were ground-breaking stories. Engadget’s Ryan Block responded by laying down their editorial policy and concluded that ultimately, it boiled down to if they thought the story deserved to be on their blog or not.

You would think this is a no-brainer, right? Why should one blogger expect another to link to his posts? Shouldn’t the brute logic of ‘mera blog meri marzee‘ (my blog, my wish) apply? And almost always it does and frankly there is no logical argument against it. But the problem creeps in when such a blog achieves mega-status and being linked on them not only brings hordes of visitors to your site but also adds much-needed Google juice. Being linked on such a blog becomes competitive and soon people are resorting to all sorts of tactics including emotional blackmail to request a link. Things can get ugly and random accusations fly left right & center.

Top bloggers share a social and professional network outside their blogs although this association may have come about through their blogs. When fellow bloggers requests a link, the other is almost obliged to honor their request and if they don’t do so, it can lead to suppressed resentment and often retribution in similar fashion. There is no easy way out and if the mega blog wishes to retain its quality standards, it must regularly refuse or ignore requests for links from even their closest friends. At the lower rungs of the blogosphere, it doesn’t matter but as you climb higher, the need to maintain a certain standard of links as well as need to be more picky becomes paramount. Also, filter blogs like to maintain variety in the links they offer. If they see that they are often linking to a particular blog, they’ll cut back even if the posts are worth linking to. The implicit understanding behind this may also be that if we have linked them often, readers should have bookmarked that site by now. But most readers of filter blogs, in my experience, come to depend mostly on the filter blog for their reading needs and incidence of adding blogs to their feeds will often decrease.

I’ve been on both sides of such a predicament. One of the important aspects of running DesiPundit is the constant flood of self-nominations. While I encourage bloggers sending pointers to their own posts, it is frustrating when they send a link to every post they publish. Thankfully, most of them understand when we don’t publish their tips but there are occasional ranters who accuse DesiPundit of being elitist and picky. Well, I consider that as a compliment because that is the exact reason they wished to be featured on DesiPundit i.e. to be one among many. The charm would quickly diminish if we publish every tip we get. But to be honest, the linking decisions are not always based purely on objective choice but plenty other factors come into play. As in real life.

On the other hand, I have occasionally sought links to my content and have sometimes shamelessly asked top bloggers to plug my posts. Not always have I been linked. And I’ve completely agreed with their choice and never once complained. I send a link and forget about it. Following up is considered desperate and puts the other blogger in an awkward spot. News that I may consider important may not be worthy enough for the other blogger and by asking for a plug, not only am I pushing for the information to get out but also asking for a favor. And favors cannot be demanded. Keeping requests for plugs down to a minimum also helps so when you do ask for one, the strength of your content in addition to your ‘behavior’ in the past makes a stronger case.

Also, understanding the type of content a blogger likes to link to helps. For e.g. any interesting tidbit on cows will catch Amit Varma’s interest and any unique Goatse reference will easily make it on Boing Boing. But beware of changing your preferences to suit the tastes of the blog you want to be featured on. That would not only be dishonest but the insincerity and lack of knowledge/interest will be easily reflected in your post.

We all wish to be featured in a top blog or a mainstream media publication but we must understand that more popular a blog or website is, the more requests it’ll get thus the chances of your request making it regardless of how important you think it is relatively small. Also, even if you are the first to break a story, your blog cred plays an important part in getting a linkback. A reputable blog is more likely to feature a source that they trust and if they have featured them before, the chances of getting a second link is higher. This does not smack of partiality or bias but simply reflects the choice of the blogger to go with a source that they trust. Nevertheless, smaller blogs shouldn’t be disillusioned. You may just get your breaking story and if everything falls in place, linkbacks will flow in. Many of the big blogs out there can easily trace back their popularity to one story that brought them into the limelight.

In conclusion, it doesn’t help burning your bridges by taking on A-list bloggers by accusing them of not linking to your blog. Chances are they got there through writing and/or linking to quality content. Also, no one really has any obligation to link to anything they don’t wish to. If they miss your ‘breaking ‘ story, chances are that they might lose more than you ever might because good quality posts always get noticed.

Any other tips you care to share?

Technorati Tags: Blogging, blogs, linking, Engadget, Scobleizer, trackbacks