Strong bloggers don’t link?
Richard Querin channels Seth Goldstein, who writes that strong bloggers no longer link.
I have no idea what planet they are living in, but if I read a blog that doesn't link it usually sucks.
But, anyway, James Kendrick links to an RSS News Aggregator for HDTVs.
I do admit, though, that I haven't been reading many feeds lately. Instead I've been trying to live life, and get around Microsoft.
Today I was hanging out with Steve Ball and famous guitarist Robert Fripp, who was on campus doing some more recording for potential use in Windows Vista. That guy is cool. Certainly cooler than a blogger that never links.
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May 4th, 2006 at 6:23 pm
Steve Gillmor is leading the no link brigade. Makes no sense to me.
May 4th, 2006 at 8:53 pm
Just to rebel against this whole no-link movement, I think you should pick a random blog every day and link to it.
You can start with mine. :)
Seriously though. I’m just not understanding the no link motivation and how that helps.
May 4th, 2006 at 9:03 pm
Scoble, I’ve been lurking through your RSS feed for many moons now and this was the funniest thing I’ve heard you say by far:
“That guy is cool. Certainly cooler than a blogger that never links.”
An upcoming line in South Park no less. Cheers.
May 4th, 2006 at 9:04 pm
Well, personaly, I don’t really read someone’s blog because of how much they link. I read them for the content..
May 4th, 2006 at 10:11 pm
Dmad: linking is content.
May 4th, 2006 at 10:41 pm
Having an opinion on a linked article/blog is content :)
Also the link is content at a distance.
Linking is content?
May 4th, 2006 at 11:28 pm
Not sure what I think about links, blogging, content, or anything anymore. Totally distracted by that last paragraph. What do I need to do to “hang-out” with Robert Fripp? My soul is available for sale. :-)
May 5th, 2006 at 12:27 am
Err, “splogger” isn’t shorthand for “strong blogger”.
Sploggers don’t (generally) link - good bloggers link.
Unless you are writing completely original content, you have to cite your sources, and generally online this is courteously done with a live link.
I’m not going to say that people who don’t link are lesser bloggers, but they shouldn’t call the vast majority of us ‘weak bloggers’ (at least by implication).
The whole ethos of blogging is linking and interacting.
May 5th, 2006 at 1:40 am
I’ve written about this before and it may not make sense to many perhaps but it is a true fact. Many of the top bloggers don’t link outside anymore. Not even one small damn link. Or they just link within a specific set/ring of their own to maintain the ranks. This is highly unfair if you ask me and retards the success of blogs.
I can easily name tons of people but you all know who they are. Looking at teh Technorati Top 100, will probably get you 80% of my list.
Cheers!
May 5th, 2006 at 3:09 am
I’ve been trying to get my head around the blogosphere and follow some blogs to try and keep up with what may be happening on the pulse of the internet.
The problem I have with some blogs is that from first appearances it looks like the ‘big’ blogs are happy to reference themselves but rarely touch anything lower.
So it’s like going to Yahoo! news and finding reprints from other media source, but it’s all the same material being repeated from different angles.
It’s not a question of links, it’s sources, in my humble opinion.
May 5th, 2006 at 3:31 am
The internet is about linking and connecting is it not? Yes you can post without links if you like but don’t force it on the rest of us. Links => discovery.
I read another post recently that said a good blogger should write only original content and shouldnt steal other ideas by linking. What nonsense! Most creative ideas are actually the result of a synthesis of other pre-existing ideas.
May 5th, 2006 at 5:06 am
the only one person i can think of that that’s true of is david byrne.
i think what he means is, strong writers who haven’t yet sorted out the blogging don’t link.
May 5th, 2006 at 5:58 am
Hey Robert, as you are considered to be THE DADDY of strong bloggers, how about a link to me to prove that even blog gods have it in them to link these days?!
May 5th, 2006 at 8:41 am
“Today I was hanging out with Steve Ball and famous guitarist Robert Fripp….”
C’mon, spill, what’d you have for lunch…? ;-)
jd
May 5th, 2006 at 9:14 am
@11. Indeed linking leads to discover. But I’ve seen many bloggers use linking as their major reason for posting. I welcome links that are relevant to what the blogger is saying. But, many posts are simply “Bert Habablab says the thinks something is (cool) (not cool). I (agree) (disagree). Bob Loblaw also thinks….” yawn.
May 5th, 2006 at 9:14 am
And don’t get me started on name dropping :-)
May 5th, 2006 at 10:22 am
I would phrase this “axiom” as:
Real writers write, bloggers link.
May 5th, 2006 at 3:50 pm
1. Wow, Vista is going to sound pretty thanks to Robert Fripp. Those sounds are the audio correlate of desktop transparency.
2. Bloggers who don’t link:
Think they are being smart marketers by not “diluting their brand”…?
Are coming down with inflated-ego-needs-deflation syndrome…? If so let’s hear that rush of escaping air. ; )
What’s “strong”, what’s popular and what’s good are often confused, and “strength” likes it that way. But in reality there is a big difference!
May 5th, 2006 at 4:11 pm
I usually put a few links in each of my posts as a way to give related info to the reader. For example if I write about a wine or cheese, I like to link to the area where it is produced, the town and say the producer itself.
Other times I just write my piece.
There should be no ‘golden rule’ on this.
Robert Fripp as been making music since the late 60’s and is still adventurous which proves that there is room for experimentation ( No Pussyfooting).
Take care
Serge
Biz:
http://www.njconcierges.com
Blog:
http://www.sergetheconcierge.com
May 5th, 2006 at 11:42 pm
Robert Fripp? I am insanely jealous. He and Brian Eno are big heroes of mine.
May 6th, 2006 at 2:10 am
Hugh: he rocks. Literally.
May 7th, 2006 at 3:47 pm
Here is my bold faced link bait attempt. (And I do try to link out to other bloggers as much as possible). To encourage people to link to my blog, I am working with CarbonFund.org to “neutralize” one ton of carbon for every link back to my blog - http://www.deepmarket.com - should be interesting!
May 8th, 2006 at 5:11 pm
[...] It crossed my mind when I learned last week that Microsoft is going to be using guitarist Robert Fripp to record sounds for their new “Vista” operating system. [...]
May 15th, 2006 at 3:21 am
[...] Scobleizer - Microsoft Geek Blogger » Strong bloggers don’t link? (tags: web20 linking blogging) [...]
May 16th, 2006 at 2:50 am
Hey, “Sploggers” sounds good to me! Isn’t the purpose of blogging to be yet another communication tool for knowledge transfer? Creativity abounds when the ease of the Internet puts people in touch… just look at the new word we’ve created here this week! I think we should link and link often!
http://www.jjswanson.net
May 17th, 2006 at 8:56 am
[...] Scoble, in Strong bloggers dont link writes “but if I read a blog that doesn’t link it usually sucks.” [...]