Kill Your Blog! 2004 is Over! Google Won't Find You! Commentators Are Tards!

[mandy]

Thinking about launching your own blog? Here's some friendly advice: Don't. And if you've already got one, pull the plug.

Writing a weblog today isn't the bright idea it was four years ago. The blogosphere, once a freshwater oasis of folksy self-expression and clever thought, has been flooded by a tsunami of paid bilge. Cut-rate journalists and underground marketing campaigns now drown out the authentic voices of amateur wordsmiths. It's almost impossible to get noticed, except by hecklers. And why bother? The time it takes to craft sharp, witty blog prose is better spent expressing yourself on Flickr, Facebook, or Twitter...

full article: http://www.wired.com/entertainment/thewe...1/st_essay

[BellisimaJ.]

I beg to differ.  tolensmiley:

When blogging was young, enthusiasts rode high, with posts quickly skyrocketing to the top of Google's search results for any given topic, fueled by generous links from fellow bloggers. In 2002, a search for "Mark" ranked Web developer Mark Pilgrim above author Mark Twain. That phenomenon was part of what made blogging so exciting. No more. Today, a search for, say, Barack Obama's latest speech will deliver a Wikipedia page, a Fox News article, and a few entries from professionally run sites like Politico.com. The odds of your clever entry appearing high on the list? Basically zero.

My blog is approximately 5 months old (inspire emotion). It is a PR2 at this point. Most of my political entries wind up on the first or second page for the keywords I use. Other entries, not as often, but still ranked well in search.

As an example, I compiled what I think is the most complete list of individual Republicans who have endorsed Obama. For the keywords Obama + Republicans + endorsements, I am on the first page. Inspire Emotion: Notable Republican Endorsements of Barack Obama  / http://www.google.com/search?num=30&hl=en&lr=&as_qdr=all&q=obama+republican+endorsements&btnG=Search
Ranked above McClatchy, Politico, etc..


I don't believe that Google ignores blogs at all. I do think that they are ignoring paid post blogs/splogs, blogs without much original content (they are ignoring my political news aggregation site, IPD).
I am not attempting to make money from my blogs, other than as an afterthought...........I really don't care about that aspect of it. If you are trying to make money from your blog, give it up. I know many, many, many bloggers who are trying to do so. Most of them make very little, and in order to do so, most of them have resorted to paid posts. As a consequence, their blogs suck, do not rank well in search, and need to DIE.

Twitter is good at wide dissemination of the one liner.I wish I had used it in addition to my blog for my political posts, and political news in general. BUT, if all you are doing is tweeting, you are not in it because you love to write.

My intent in blogging is two-fold. I enjoy writing, and I am trying to become a better writer. Politics is NOT my thing, and I will no longer be a political blogger once this election is over and resolved.
Secondarily, I am essentially a social person, and my blogs allow me to connect to other humans with similar interests. My primary interest, writing, has enabled me to connect to a similar group of people, including published writers, from whom I am learning, as well as socializing.

That said, your blog will still draw the Net's lowest form of life: The insult commenter. Pour your heart out in a post, and some anonymous troll named r0rschach or foohack is sure to scribble beneath it, "Lame. Why don't you just suck McCain's ass." That's why Calacanis has retreated to a private mailing list. He can talk to his fans directly, without having to suffer idiotic retorts from anonymous Jason-haters.

Yeah, this is true. But not as much as you might think. And, the trolls who post comments are easily ignored.........and erased. They don't bother me at this point.

In summary, while my blogs will never be ranked in the top 100, I find blogging satisfying, and will continue to maintain at least a couple of them.