Rethinking Blogging and Cleaning Up My Blog List

Cleaning Up the Blog List

It's good to reconsider your blog list from time to time and delink those who are no longer supporting the conservative cause. Today I deleted Right Wing Nut House, as I could no longer take the PC opinions of wussy Rick Moran. Check out his latest wimpy post, "Why Conservatism Sucks Right Now."

Moran seems to be a Charles Johnson wannabe. He seems to be saying "Look at ME, I'm a RESPONSIBLE conservative!" Maybe he should change the name of his blog to "Moderate Wing Nut House," or maybe "RINOs R US."

Last week I deleted French blog SPQR who has apparently sold out to the Truthers movement; he was publishing incredible merde about how Bush planned 9/11 as an "inside job," and getting lots of new hits in the process. The gullible French public loves to believe the Truther crap, and if lots of hits are your goal, I guess that's good. However, if tons of hits are your only consideration, start a porn site; you'll get plenty.

Rethinking Blogging - Are "Tons of Hits" the Major Goal?

Now as far as getting lots of hits, is unethical activity really worth it? I am speaking of "Google bombing" by creating titles like "Lindsay Lohan in the Nude," when there is not really a picture of Lindsay Lohan in the nude, but just a fake come-on to get lots of hits. Then the visitors discover you're full of shit and will never return. I guess that doesn't really matter, since Google searches will send you a steady stream of new suckers.

Several blogs are taking advantage of a crime committed against ESPN reporter Erin Andrews; someone made a peephole video of her undressing in her hotel room and uploaded it to the internet. Andrews says she is working with the police to find and prosecute the perpetrators. Link to the video and get lots of hits!! No thanks.

Update: I received this email from Dan Riehl and it is good advice.

This is not a post. Given some questions, just my quick, experienced-based thoughts on group blog projects.

All groups should be opt in when started. This is common practice for Internet professionals and amateurs alike. It will win you friends and not create enemies, or cause trolled link emails to be ignored as a waste of time.

Don't use mass CC. There's a BCC option for a reason. Use it, as I did here, or look inexperienced and risk aggravating people whose in boxes are aready much too cluttered, Blog project groups have proven in-effective and actually counter-productive over time. It's why the practice was abandoned. They are inside bogging posts for bloggers that do not grow readership over time unless you want to blog for a small circle of people across a small number of blogs over and over, again. That's fine. But don't think it will "grow" your blog in rankings, or traffic to an appreciable degree. It doesn't work.

For many blog readers, most of whom never comment, nor want to be part of an Internet clique - they have lives, unlike we bloggers and have a beer with the neighbors when they want to talk - the posts are annoying. There are no short cuts to writing quality posts over a long period of time. Too many of such posts won't create new return readers, they will more likely give you a bad rap and cause people to stop bothering to look in, or follow links to you.

Presumably you have a blog roll. Refer your readers to it if you want to refer a list of other blogs. A long mass of 100 blogs linked one after another offers nothing and accomplishes nothing. Nor does fifty links in one post I can't imagine anyone frittering away their time writing. But be my guest.

Have fun. If this sort of thing floats your boat - go for it. I don't mean to judge anyone too harshly. But understand what it is you are actually accomplishing and for heaven's sake, please follow commonly accepted Internet ettiquette as the experienced hands you would purport to be, or become.