Understanding Open Trackbacks

I said I’d had my last word on this Open Trackbacks then, but then Lashawn Barber said something and I had to respond. First of all she says:

People, people, people! Don’t get it twisted. Use common sense. The Bear is not excluding trackbacks as links. Trackbacks are links and will be counted toward your TTLB rank, but trackbacks in OPEN TRACKBACK POSTS will not be counted as links.

This is just plain incorrect. Bear said:

So this weekend, I decided to do something about it. I implemented a simple solution: when the Ecosystem scans a blog’s front page for links, it now simply ignores any inline trackback sections that are found, while still counting the links within posts or on a blog’s blogroll.

So lets be clear what this means. He’s ignoring any Inline trackbacks which means it doesn’t matter how legitimate the trackback is, its going to be ignored. All those Trackbacks which showed up on people’s frontpage automagically, no longer count as links. The ones that didn’t show up on your front page couldn’t count anyway because TTLB only searches the front page.

Other link fests like mine will still go forward just fine. The reason for that is that I manually copy them into the body of the message, so all those link to me and Don Surber who does the same thing will still get their rankings in the TTLB up. Guess what, people who host Trackback parties will be fine because the people who participate in the Open Trackbacks threads to get their stuff read are going to link back to the people with the trackback parties in the text of their posts. The bloggers linking in will be the losers under the new system in terms of TTLB rankings, but I believe the most important thing is being read and Open Trackback posts help immensely with that.

I looked today at my list of incoming hits into my site and the top source of incoming links (outside of search engines) was Don Surber after Hours: The King of the Trackback parties. The general feeling that’s been expressed by so many opponents of Trackback parties is that they’re just a shortcut, a way to get links and little more.

I disagree with the idea in the strongest possible terms. Nobody posts anything to a trackback party that they don’t think is good, and in most cases they’re right. I was able to go through one of Wizbang’s Carnival of the Trackbacks and find three articles I’d blog on Saturday night. Its about getting read and yeah if the hosts get some links in the process, good for them, but Trackback parties thrive not so much on TTLB ranking or Technorati Rankings but on that most human desire in writers, to be read, to be heard. I’ve been heard more since I’ve started submitting my work to trackback parties and carnivals, and as long as they continue to work, I’ll continue to put the effort into them (and yes there’s effort required, just ask my wife how much time I spend on this stuff.)

LaShawn goes on to write:

You bloggers may not believe in the “build it, and they will come” idea, but it is true. The best kind of bloggers are the “pure bloggers,” those who blog for the joy of it. I am such a blogger. I appreciate my readers and most commenters, but if my traffic slacks off or readers begin to comment less, I’d still be here almost every day self-publishing my opinions and loving it. I love the mere act of blogging, and if people surf here to read my thoughts, it’s like lemon icing on my chocolate cake.

No, I don’t believe in “build it and they will come” because its bunk. The idea that if you do nothing but post, people are going to show up doesn’t bear with my life experience. For the first seven months I was blogging, I got virtually no response from my blogging, and if I did get a response, it was totally random. Then I met Radical Russ and we began dueling and I got traffic from Russ’ site. I got a blog post mentioned on Slate and got some hits, but other than that, I just had random people coming through every few days.

I then started the Trackback parties and Blog Carnivals and it made a huge difference in my traffic. I now average 105 visitors per day. I know its not as big as many blogs. (In fact there’s nearly 2800 blogs in the TTLB ecosystem that get more traffic.) But I’m proud of that increase we’ve managed. You don’t get read by doing nothing. Yes, its important that you love blogging, but if I come to the conclusion there’s no way on Earth, I can ever make this (blogging/writing) my livelihood than it becomes very hard to justify the time spent on it, given all that could be done. I’d still blog, I’d just blog a lot less.

I put in the effort to come up with interesting ideas, do some research, write (which is sometimes hard to do), edit, proofread, and publish — day after day after day. I e-mail bigger bloggers to request links, and I’ve attracted enough readers in two years to be a widely-linked blogger. It’s been hard yet rewarding work. People link and trackback to my posts, and over the years I’ve risen through the TTLB Ecosystem.

Well, first of all, what LaShawn’s describing doesn’t sound like “if you build it they will come,” it sounds like “promote the heck out of it and they will come”. Oddly enough (and I don’t know who is right on this) most pro-blogging websites will tell you NOT to e-mail people asking for links as if you link to them they’ll eventually get the message. Of course the prospect of e-mailing bigger bloggers to beg links is terrifying. I know if I e-mail Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit, he’ll just e-mail me back, “Heh” and that’ll be the end of it.

Secondly, it’s a very human tendency to expect that people will “do it OUR way.” Things have changed and a lot of big blogs are on the scene and there are more blogs coming online everyday, so it’s a struggle to get noticed. There’s more noise in the blogging world now than when LaShawn started and somebody starting today is going to have stiffer competition than when I started. You’ve got to find your own way. That’s not to say you can’t learn from other bloggers, you certainly can, but the way of humanity and marketing is innovation.

Anyway, LaShawn goes on:

Many smaller bloggers didn’t like my Bloggers’ Envy post, and I suspect they won’t like this one, either. That can’t be helped. I blog about what I want, how I want, and when I want.

-I actually agreed with the Bloggers Envy post regarding the criticism of Pajamas Media. Many bloggers, myself included would love to get paid handsomely for blogging as well as getting all the attention that Pajamas Media got. So, a lot of it was envy, but there’s also a fear of Pajamas Media sucking all the energy out of the blogosphere to serve their own ends. I tend to believe there’s enough attention, links, etc. to go around for everyone particularly with more people getting on the Internet everyday, so I congratulate you and wish you well.

In fact, if Open Trackback bloggers don’t like the Bear’s upcoming policy change, why don’t you create a new ranking system? Don’t complain. Create. Get it?

We don’t have to create anything else, its called “Technorati Rankings” which is actually a more comprehensive ranking system.

To elaborate on the love/hate remark, bloggers who don’t like me personally still read my blog. How do I know? They often blog about me, and I sometimes click on their lonely link in my traffic log and read the post. Then I notice that they’ve implemented certain design, layout, or traffic-generating ideas I occasionally post. They hate me but follow my blogging advice because they know I know what I’m talking about.

I personally don’t know you. Its kind of hard to form personal opinions based on a few posts on a blog. I respect what you and other big bloggers have achieved. I research, I write, and I do everything I can to provide interesting content for readers and to promote it with all that’s within me. I’m not just an Open Trackback host, I also frequent other sites Open Trackback parties to promote my own work.

Regardless, it takes hard work to be successful in a field, be it blogging or anything else. I, nor any other blogger is denying that basic fact of life, but the key to success is innovation and finding better ways to achieve results.

TMH Bacon Bits
Oblogatory Anecdotes
Don Surber
The Business of America is Business
Caos Blog
Mudville Gazette
Common Folks Using Common Sense
Is it Just Me
Third World County
Conservative Cat
Real Ugly American
Stop the ACLU

Don Surber’s “The Best Argument for a 100% sales tax.”
10ft2ft’s “Adam on Trackbacks”
Pajamas Media Trackback party
Don Surber’s “The Nest Wal-Mart Millioaire
Poliblogger, “More on Trackback Parties”
From Don Surber: Christmas 1, PC 0
Don Surber: Saddam’s Evil Continues

Open Trackbacks