Truth and Traffic
Seems the net went balistic on a topic with the same title as my last post on Lifekludger only revolving around someone trying to get traffic by offering a bottle with bubble gum stuck to the top on ebay (I purposely am not linking to it). In addition it seems that Popular Science may have had a hand in its popularity too. Here’s what Jake says in a comment elsewhere (Visual Grammer blog, again I’m purposely not linking)
1. Jake Ludington Says:
March 22nd, 2006 at 2:49 amYou can thank Popular Science for pushing the Bottle Cap Tripod above the noise on Technorati. They featured my DIY tripod http://jakeludington.comdiytripod in their April 2006 issue without actually linking to the article. I’m more surprised the search term continues to beat the Microsoft Mix06 conference, which has many bloggers attending.
and on another:
I can’t decide if you are attempting to provide serious commentary here, making a point by including every top Technorati search term in one post, or simply trying to game the system to boost your rankings (which indirectly validates that point you might be trying to make). At any rate, you drew my attention by linking to the Bottle Cap Tripod article, which is number 1 on Technorati because it recently appeared in Popular Science, not because someone wrote a bizarre article about creating an eBay auction for the tripod.
Published By Jake Ludington (http://www.jakeludington.com) - 21 March 03:37
The post of mine at Lifekludger on the subject (which follows up on one I did back in Feb.) and the conversation between Jake and myself, which can be seen in the comments there, are valid and honest. The idea and the purpose espoused by Jake and I are still valid.
Mike seemed concerned I’d been the target of some comment spam or we might be seen as a ‘link whores’. In fact, aside from Jakes comments on my Feb. post, the only commen t on the recent one was a trackback from http://www.neatorama.com, which looks like a good reputable (and interesting) site to my thinking.
Overall I think it’s nothing to worry about. If people take the time to look more than ‘one-link-deep’ a true picture emerges. That’s one good side of the net keeping things over time - assests like accountability and integrity are there to be seen.
Turns out the ‘virtual world’ isn’t so different after all!
[…] UPDATE: For my take on how this topic recently went balistic, see the post Truth and Traffic on my personal blog. […]
Pingback by lifekludger » DIY Bottle Cap Tripod — March 22, 2006 @ 1:54 pm
What I find most fascinating is the lengths people will go to in an attempt to jump on top of what’s hot on Technorati. I’ve never really paid attention before this current burst of traffic related to the tripod. There seem to be a whole host of people who are making an effort to game the system and dogpile on whatever the current hot search terms in the Top 10 happen to be. I made a post about this on a forum watched by several people who work at Technorati in hopes of finding out why they don’t do a better job of filtering because it sort of makes their whole top searches listing seem suspect.
Comment by Jake Ludington — March 22, 2006 @ 4:31 pm
You’re right Jake. Any pure technical based search ranking system is going to be a compromise and at best a pointer or entry point. (Which forum is this you’re refering to? Post to me via email if you need).
I’m of the opinion that these ‘hype-bubbles’ will also burst, and like everything else with no real substance, will be blown away and forgotten leaving the truly good content that adds real value - not just ‘talk’ about it.
It is however unfortunate that the signal gets lost in the deafening noise of the crowd temporarily.
Nice chatting to you.
Comment by dnw — March 22, 2006 @ 7:29 pm
Hey, I am the guy that posted that auction.. the traffic to my blog accounts for abut $12.00 a year, so believe me when I tell you, it was not so much a stunt of “click whoring”, but a bigger picture joke. My entire log is (for the most part) a joke.. I like to point out the ridiculous, and absurd.. and if you think that “Bottle Cap Tripod” being a number one at technorati is not absurd, I challenge you to come up with a better example. (Okay other than the obsession the world seems to have with Tammy the underage singapora that got viddied.)
Sure there is a lot of spam out there, and yes I do like to point out that spam, but please give me the credit, for pointing out, my own “click whoring” when I do it.
Thanks, and please feel free to edit this in anyway you see fit.. Peace.
Comment by DeRex — March 23, 2006 @ 4:24 am
No need to edit. I try to maintain the openness of communications as much as possible.
Yeah DeRex. At least you’re being transparent about being a ‘click whore’. While that’s being accountable, I don’t know what kind of integrity you’d call that though.
Cheers.
Comment by dnw — March 23, 2006 @ 11:09 am
Despite the obvious lack of ability to type.. see I have no right and left brain, just one big lobe in the , middle.. I actually write things which by nature are “Of integrity†for a living.. and quite frankly it bores me senseless.
And you have to admit, the gum adhesive bottle cap tripod, made you grin.. just a little didn’t it?
I guess we all have blogs for different reasons, and people who subscribe to us, are ultimately the judge of our integrity or worth to the reading public. I never thought I would get more than a handful of subscribers? My blog was for me, and me alone.. but now I have a few over 100 that hang on every word.. as stupid as many of those words are.. I don’t get it, I don’t; even try to.
I still rely on blogs like yours to give me insight on what the sane think, so believe me when I say, you are of value.. and in some ways a higher value than I .. but we are different, I am here to entertain myself first, and if I make a few smile, or weep, or get all pissy along the way, then it is just a bonus to my mission..
Now If I could just get this whole typing thing down.. life would be grand..
Keep up the fine work.. and if you ever want some assistance in how to click whore for fun and profit, just drop me a line.
Peace,
DeRex.
Comment by DeRex — March 24, 2006 @ 6:53 am
Good on ya De! We all need a voice….and for that voice to be heard!
Comment by dnw — March 24, 2006 @ 8:24 am