Blog News Watch

I’ve had some interesting experiences with comments lately.

First came this post, impacting as it did comments in the two blogs which were the focus on that post, which also prompted some comments of its own. Then, at one of my other blogs, I posted a “debate” style series of posts about the use of online applications by lawyers, which attracted a comment by someone associated with a particular online app (judging solely from the URL the commenter provided). That comment prompted me to write my first-ever comments policy, found here (scroll down to the second H3 tag, “Comments Policy.”

That got me thinking about comments and comment trolls - you know, the commenters who post a comment to your post designed, it would appear, solely to poke, tease, prod, and provoke an emotional response. The old wisdom is “don’t feed the trolls.” In other words, if you ignore them, they’ll go away. But more and more I find people are actually taking more proactive steps to remove such comments. In my case, I even attempted to “legislate” them away with my comments policy, for which I’m sure I’ll get some criticism by those “open access” fans who would consider such restrictions akin to censorship.

Did I take a correct or worthy approach? Or is it doomed to failure, either by killing comments altogether or proving impossible to enforce fairly? What is a good, fair comments policy nowadays, post-Kathy Sierra?

Talk back!

comments policy on blogs, kathy sierra, comment trolls

OK, so now we know most of the news reports got it all horribly wrong - there’s no blogger’s labor union being proposed, but an emergency health fund with group insurance coverage.  (If you don’t know, well, here you go.) First to sign up: Fake Steve Jobs.

So what do you think? Is this idea crazy enough to actually float?

If you haven’t joined the ranks of the uninsured, as I did about a year back, you might be tempted to dismiss this as so much self-aggrandizement (”We made the Democrats - they owe us health care!” - heck, I’ve been saying that for years.) But I know all too well - it’s kinda hard to write pithy rejoinders and be a thought leader when you’re tossing back Tums like it’s candy (well…) and praying the next time you throw up you don’t see blood. (Not that either have happened to me. I’m just saying - lack of insurance? Not a perk.)

Talk back - what do you think?

(Me, I’m all “Where’s the enrollment form, yo?”)

I hesitate to bring this one up. I hesitate, because it just happened to me on another blog and:

• I admit that my feelings on the matter are most likely colored by that experience; and
• I haven’t heard back yet from the delete-happy blogger in question, and this could all be explained away in some fashion. (Don’t see how from here but, see above bullet point.)

Here’s what happens: You write a good post. Someone else gives you a trackback. This? Is good! No, better - it’s great! Increases your traffic, means you were found linkworthy, creates a little buzz… all good things.  Now, it appears on your trackback list. Here’s the rub: some platforms (Typepad, some setups of WordPress, to name two I’m familiar with) allow the blogger (you) to delete a trackback.

That’s what someone did to me in the last few days, and I’m floored. Flummoxed. Fighting mad, actually.

Here’s my soapbox, and I’m gettin’ on it: in my book, there is no excuse for deleting a trackback that isn’t obscene, defamatory, connected to a scraper or plagiarist, or some other illegal or highly unethical person/practice/post. Why would you do such a thing? Prevent some other blog from getting a little boost from you in return? A lot of blog readers still go to the blog itself, and might see the trackback listed as a comment on your post, and thereby visit the trackback-er. Happens to me a lot. So, I suppose it’s conceivable that someone out there might not want to send any traffic to another blog. Except, in this case, two other trackbacks were allowed. Hmm.

Sorry - I’ve tried. And maybe this is my failure of imagination, but I can’t think of a single reason that isn’t something along the lines of “I don’t want to be associated with your kind.” No excuse.

No excuse, that is, that I can see. Maybe I’m myopic, so I’m opening it up:

Is there a valid reason to delete a trackback that isn’t obscene, defamatory, or linked to an illegal/unethical blog or blogger?

Talk to me!

Technorati Tags: blogging manners

I’ve got something a little different this week to submit for discussion.

Here’s the skinny: At Copyblogger, you will see a post from Roberta Rosenberg, the “Copywriting Maven” at MGP Direct, Inc.  It’s the first in a series - the details of which you can find here at her “Landing Page Makeover Page” - where she takes submitted sites and gives a 10 point critique. First up - SEOMoz’s premium membership landing page.

I actually think she’s spot-on with her comments (although I am the only person in the known universe, apparently, who likes reverse type, but that’s just me). It’s a really helpful post for anyone to read if you’re creating or revising a landing page. What I want to talk about instead is the “catch”- which is wonderfully creative, and I feel like Scrooge even bringing it up, but something about it tweaked me. By that I don’t mean “pissed me off” or “got my dander up” at all. I mean - it poked at me. It caught my attention and then some. Bottom line: I don’t know how I feel about it! And I’d like y’all’s input.

Here’s the deal with the makeover: you have two steps to take to get in the door. One - sign up, and thereby agree to share the critique with the world via Copyblogger. Fair enough. Two - this is the part that tweaked - you must donate to Heifer International an amount equal to whatever it is your landing page is trying to sell. Selling $299 premium memberships, like SEOMoz? Donate $299. “Selling” chapter 13 services, as I sort of do here? What - I’d have to donate $2500? (That’s my total starting fee.)

While I think Heifer is a great cause - and I donate regularly - it’s that “amount equal to what you’re selling” thing that’s getting me. On one level, you could argue that, at a minimum, that’s what the critique is worth to the page owner. OK, I get that. But on another level, how is the same service worth such a drastically different price to various owners? How can it be $300 for Rand and $2500 for me? We don’t normally price services like that (with exceptions, of course) - based on the benefit to the person receiving. Value, instead, is generally consistently measured across recipient demographics. I don’t charge a person who’s REALLY in debt more money to file bankruptcy.

Now, this isn’t really a charge, I get that. It’s a donation - and to a very worthy cause. So, ergo - my dilemma. I don’t know how to feel about this. So, I’m asking you guys - how do you feel about the way this is set up?

(As a sidebar, Roberta notes that gifts to Heifer are tax-deductible, and says your donation in this program “may” be tax-deductible too. The operative word is “may.” I have some lawyerly questions as to whether the IRS would deem this, rather, payment for services rendered to Roberta - and generally, you can direct payment for services rendered to be made to a third party. I don’t know for sure - I am definitively NOT a tax lawyer, have no wish to be, and don’t even play one on TV or in the blogosphere.)

Talk back!

Technorati Tags: copywriting maven, copyblogger, landing page makeover

Just came across this post on The Blog Herald (”The Evil Linking of Sploggers and Scrapers Messing With Your Content”) and thought - what a fabulous foundation for a  BNW “talk back“!

I’ve been scraped before - and yes, it does hurt, a lot. I don’t think it’s a compliment, either. In one case, I sent a nicely (but firmly) worded email to the site owner, and while I didn’t get a response, the offending material was removed.

I also posted something on another one of my blogs, The Inspired Solo, a link to another post from TBH about a tool to detect plagiarism - that might of some interest to readers here.

So what I want to know about from you guys:

1. Have you ever been the victim of a splogger/scraper?
2. What did you do about the splogger/scraper, if anything?
3. Why is “splogger” so hard to type correctly? I keep wanting to put an extra “o” in there. “Spologger.” See?
4. Are they the tool of the devil, a compliment to your creativity, a minor annoyance, or what, exactly?

Talk back to me!

Technorati Tags: splogger, scraper, blog thieves, the blog herald, blognewswatch talk back

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Here’s your chance to talk back to Blog News Watch!

What’s a blogger to do? You’ve got a great idea. You’re convinced you can make it fly in a way that no one else can. For some reason - be it your experience, your personality, your writing skills - you know your take on this subject will be just a bit better than all others.

But for now, it’s a crowded field. And in order to get the opportunity to show your stuff, you’re going to have to convince that readership to give you a chance. So, pop quiz, hot shot: what do you do?

That’s your Talk Back topic for the week: How do you compete in a crowded niche? Let’s brainstorm some ideas.

I’ll start it off:

• Don’t try to compete at all. Use the existing crew as the authorities and build off their topics by concentrating on sub-topics. Note: I’m not advocating stealing material. Rather, I’m talking about carving off one slice of the larger pie and exploring it in detail. You’re still in your niche, you’re adding to the conversation in a way that the other blogs aren’t, and you’re writing about topics with proven appeal (otherwise the other blogs wouldn’t be big, right?).
• Form relationships with the big bloggers. Don’t ask for links, of course - you should never do that directly, anyway, unless you’ve got a previous close relationship with the blogger. But it’s OK to introduce yourself, your blog, and your (hopefully slightly different) focus; to compliment (genuinely) the bigger blog; and to close with a request, time permitting, for the other blogger’s input.
• Participate in their comments conversations. Never do so purely to link to your content! God, this drives me nuts whenever I see it. I think, “there goes another blogger shooting himself in the foot.” Add to the conversation in the comment, and if you do have something on point on your blog, just mention it in passing. But let the comment do the substantive talking. Participate in these convos consistently with good substantial offerings, and you’ll get traffic. I promise you. (Just make sure you include your URL in your personal information, and if there’s an option to “remember this information” - check it.)
• Create original content. Make a concerted effort to be very, very different. Be ornery, cantankerous - if everyone else is sweetness and light. Go against the grain. Distinguish yourself from the crowd. But note: this can be a dangerous strategy. The big blogs are big for a reason - because readers like them the way they are. Maybe the general readership is ready for a change - maybe it isn’t. It’s a risk, and once taken, it’s going to be hard to give it back.

What else can we come up with?

Technorati Tags: blog marketing, raising blog traffic, blognewswatch talk back

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I make no claims to originality with this topic - Darren Rowse covered it earlier, and more in depth. But it’s one that interests me greatly. I am the queen of too much, myself. I have this blog, and Stylefix.net, for 451Press. I have my two practice blogs. I have Inspired Solo, and another one on the way.

So far, I can handle all six. I spend about eight hours a week working on the embryonic site, and probably an additional hour a day blogging for the remaining. I estimate another six hours a week - one. So whatever issues there might be about blogging at many sites, it’s not a question of time management for me. I can handle the time commitment easily.

But every now and again I wonder about some of these folks with 10+ blog sites. Are you recognizing a greater return on your investment? Or do the returns diminish? I wonder if having a small select group of sites, on which you could spend more time (in SEO, in publicity and promotion, in creating content) is a better tactic.

What do you think? Quantity or quality? Talk back to me!

Technorati Tags: multiple blogs, blogging for money

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Be honest now. Does blogging professionally full time appeal to you? Sitting around in your jammies all day, if that’s your couture of choice, sipping coffee and browsing the web? I have to admit - some days, when the law practice gets particularly overwhelming, the life of a pro FT blogger really has its appeal for me.

Still, others want the variety of leaving the house for work, going to an office, having their coffee breaks with real live people in 3-D.

Ever since the arrival of the Gawker blogs in my realm of awareness - first Wonkette, then Gawker and Defamer - it presented itself as a real, viable option. I’m sure others share my experience - and still others credit another blog with that catalyst of discovery.

So, what’s your pleasure? Do you secretly yearn for the life? Or is it just something other people do?

Congratulations to Deanna from Tot TV Watch, my fellow 451Press’er, for winning the penultimate Talk Back Fridays comment contest!  Now’s your chance - your last chance! (well, for awhile) - to win my editing services on a blog post of your choice. Read below, make your comments, and I’ll announce the winner next week.

Can You Tell When a Blogger’s Out For Cash? And Does It Matter?

Here’s the setup: I’ve noticed in the past week (something in the water? I dunno) several bloggers on my Bloglines feeds who’ve suddenly demonstrated a lust for cash that was, shall we say, obvious.

Now, I’m not talking about someone who decides to monetize a blog previously unadorned by AdSense ads. Nor am I talking about someone who decides to ask for donations, or puts up a first e-Book or PDF document for sale, where they’d never done that before. I’m all for capitalism, as readers know. I’m monetizing two of my own blogs as we speak (one already in progress, one still in the design stage). And I have no qualms about other bloggers making dough, either. I think it shows confidence in the value they contribute and I appreciate that, as a reader, and as a fellow blogger.

No, what I’m talking about is something a little more … hmm … distasteful, is the word that pops to mind. Consider a blogger with five blogs, who posts about the same topic on all five. If it’s applicable to all five blogs, you might say, what’s the problem? Maybe nothing. But what if all five posts are essentially the same? And what if they all point to the same e-book for sale?

Even so, if I saw this once in a while, I wouldn’t mind so much. But every day?

You know what I’m talking about. We’ve all seen them - bloggers that apparently get a whiff of success and seem to go temporarily insane with green visions.  What’s the line, though? Like I said, I’m as dedicated a capitalist as any Republican you’d run up against (and no, I’m not one, and no, I’m not telling you what I am!). But there clearly is a line that, once crossed, means a certain loss of trust. Where is the line? Can you tell? And does it matter to you? Or am I just nuts? (OK, don’t answer that.)

Talk back to me! It’s your last chance to win! 

Technorati Tags: monetized blogs

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Welcome to Talk Back Fridays, where you talk back and possibly win my editing services for one blog post of your choice! First, some housekeeping - this is the next to last contest Friday, so if you want to win, start commenting! Next week will be our last contest day, although Talk Back Fridays itself will continue (we just won’t be announcing any winners). I’ll probably resurrect the contest at some point in the near future - but for now, you have two more chances!

How does it work? Easy peasy: I post about a topic, you post your thoughts, I choose a winner. That winner gets my editing services for one blog post of his or her choice (subject to my usual rules about no obscenity, no defamation, etc.). That’s it! Couldn’t be simpler.

Today’s Talk Back Topic: How important is design, anyway?

It’s an age-old debate - design versus content. One serves the other. No, it’s the other way around. Design doesn’t matter. No, it’s critical. (No one will deny that content is more critical, I hope.) But I look around and I see some of these blogs the kids are starting up these days - and I think, “Mercy. Who hit you with the ugly stick, you poor blog?”  I mean - really. Standard fresh out of the can templates? Boring blue and white, or green and white, or some other god-awful two-tone garbage that someone mistook for “clean and simple”?

But maybe I’m wrong. Maybe design isn’t that important, if your goal is to bring in the readers and/or the bucks. Maybe looks don’t count.

Talk back to me!

Technorati Tags: talk back fridays, blog design, blog content

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