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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
by Patrix | on Monday, January 29th, 2007 at 5:16 pm | 
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January 29th, 2007 at 9:23 pm reply
I have noticed that a few top Indian bloggers (I dont wish to name them) have formed a sort of a blogging cartel and when they want to raise an issue they do it through their group.
I was surprised to notice this in blogging coz inherently its supposed to be a liberal channel!!
January 29th, 2007 at 10:01 pm reply
Gawd, I couldn’t agree with you more on these points about link-blegging. I got so tired of it I ended up putting my email address in a page about an email policy I was forced to write, and I’ve even put that page link in a dropdown for all my “pages.” IOW, if someone really needs to email me, they’re gonna have to have at least two brain cells to find the email address.
For those who auto-spam every post they write, I “helpfully suggested” a couple links to free opt-in newsletter services. One got the point immediately, and although he was a little miffed, he quit spamming me. Others cut back, and another apparently didn’t even READ MY EMAIL (and he expected me to read his?!).
Here’s another couple of tips for people who send links: check that blogger’s site BEFORE emailing them! I can’t believe the chutzpah of people who will email me saying “OMGZ, look at this story!!1!” when I’ve already covered it myself! If you’re mass-emailing, be honest right up front and say “this is urgent” (and it had better be urgent) “but I haven’t had a chance to check everyone’s sites, so please forgive me if you’ve already written something about this.” Or whatever. Bottom line: MANNERS COUNT. At the very least, assume that whomever you are asking for a link has about 100 times more email than you do, and acknowledge the spamee’s time is limited. And as said in the post, know the person to whom you’re sending the link. It’s extremely irritating (and shows you don’t care about the spamee’s blog at all except for links) to get a bleg for a link to a post about Subject X, about which I couldn’t care less. I’ve gotten link requests for posts that actually are in complete opposition to what I believe in (try being a conservative political blogger that’s OK with Bush’s immigration strategy and thinks Tom Tancredo is a mouth-breathing idiot!). KNOW YOUR SPAMEE. Don’t send a Linux fanatic a post about how much you think Windows Vista r0xx0rz. (Duh!)
Also: use a spell-checker–in the email AND in your post. Nobody with a brain is going to link to someone who calls himself a “writer” but can’t spell or put together a coherent sentence. If you’re a lousy writer, you may as well quit begging. It’s not gonna happen whether you beg or not.
Yeah, I’m crabby as hell about email, could you tell? It’s one of the reasons I’m on a break from blogging and instead hanging out in everyone else’s blog comments. ;-)
January 29th, 2007 at 10:48 pm reply
Havoc, I guess you would know better coz you are out there now. But blogging, as in any activity eventually forms ‘cartels’ or networks that can get increasingly difficult to break into. Like it or not, we all are part of some ‘cartel’ or the other.
Beth, Glad to have you in the comments here. I agree with what you say - manners do count. It is not just what you have to say but how you say it too. Thanks for the tips.
January 30th, 2007 at 7:42 am reply
[...] Tue 30 Jan 2007 Link away… Posted by chaitra under Article Every once in a while when we have a slow news day [or a week], the blogosphere creates its own raad… [...]
January 30th, 2007 at 7:50 am reply
I agree to your point that no one has any obligation to link another. There are many ways to propagate one’s article. One can take initiative to get listed in aggregators or use tools like Nowpublic.
Blog articles become popular not only by linking from top bloggers but the quality and ingenuity of the content. And for the good content you do not need to do anything to get linked.
I check Desipundit regularly and have tipped a few links (not my writings) because I felt that these should be shared to a lot of people. For an example today I was amazed with Kiruba’s Extra Bed report and is dying to spread the news everywhere.
January 30th, 2007 at 10:46 am reply
Nice use of the word “raada”.
January 30th, 2007 at 11:01 am reply
Rezwan, social news networking sites have made it easier for smaller blogs to get noticed but most consider it hard work promoting their stories and even social networking sites like Digg have their old boys club that A-list bloggers are accused of. Kiruba’s Extra Bed initiative is indeed notable and deserves to be spread around.
Santosh, Heh. Tried to come up with a comparable English word but couldn’t :)
February 6th, 2007 at 1:29 am reply
And I’ve completely agreed with their choice and never once complained.
Are you sure? Some post regarding old boys club comes to mind …
February 6th, 2007 at 8:34 am reply
X, dig it up. I guess, I am in the old boys club now :)