You’ve probably seen this meme going around called the Ultimate Technorati Favorites Exchange. Dosh Dosh Gary Lee kicked it off as an experiment to “break into the Technorati Top 100 and determine the exposure and traffic benefits of being included in the Top 100 list.”
Now this ISN’T the Technorati Top 100 Blogs – which is a list of the 100 most linked to blogs. This meme was about breaking into the Top 100 Favorited blogs on Technorati. Very different.
Well, with a lot of work and a whole bunch of links from other bloggers (thank you, by the way), I got into the top 100 last Tuesday. “Pretty neat,” I thought, “Now let’s see how it increases my traffic.”
So giving it a week or so, I checked my traffic this morning and found no change in the past week for referrers coming from Technorati. I did have a massive spike that began on Friday and went through the weekend. But that came from StumbleUpon.
My conclusion – all the time I spent exchanging favorite links and commenting on blogs so they would favorite my blog was a complete waste of time. It was certainly a waste of time for me. And I know it was a wasted post for you. So I want to say I’m sorry for wasting your time with that post as well.
I’ve decided that I’m done with memes that are just about trying to generate more traffic. I don’t just want more traffic. What I’d like are more people who want to read and create conversation on my blog. So I’ll leave the traffic-building memes to the roadrunners. I’m tired of jumping off cliffs.
Now, I will continue to participate in memes that I find useful to you – such as Ben Yoskovitz’s Ultimate Guide to Productivity, Wendy Piersall’s What Does It Take to Write a Great Post (which I’ll get to tomorrow, Wendy) or Liz Strauss’ Why On Earth Do I Blog (which I’ll get to soon as well). These memes are about a lot more than just building traffic. And I know they add value to your life and blogging as well.
So what’s your opinion on traffic-generating memes? Have you found any success with them?
Just to clarify something. The link meme that you participated in was not created by me, but Gary Lee. Garry Conn incorporated it on his blog and you seem to have took it from there.
“My conclusion – all the time I spent exchanging favorite links and commenting on blogs so they would favorite my blog was a complete waste of time.”
While I’m not the originator of the link meme you participated in.. I’m sorry that you feel that way, Dawud.
I don’t think visiting another bloggers blog and commenting is ever a waste of time. The fact that you’ve received 69 comments in the previous post is also not a waste of time.
I’m sure a few of the commenters do come back occassionally.. they might lurk around and they do keep track of your new posts.
Do also note that traffic from Technorati comes in three ways: 1)From your blog profile 2)From technorati.com 3)From the Most Favorited List. Technorati will not send you as much traffic as StumbleUpon and comparing them does not help the issue, IMO.
I agree with Karin H. H as well that the meme was some sort of a light hearted conversation among bloggers.
Hi Dawud
I had doubts about the technocrati meme at first: blogging for conversation – not for ranking.
But…..
it has been a very easy way to find other interesting blogs and since I’ve favoured them they keep appearing on my Technocrati home-page with new posts (I know I can also use google reader for that – but before I ‘cloud-up’ my reader too much I’m going to ‘sample’ these new finds – have already added two to my reader)
So, in a way the technocrati meme has ben effective in a ‘conversational’ way afteral
Karin H. H (Keep It Simple Sweetheart, specially in business)
I too was on that list but I didn’t participate at all. Even still my Favorite numbers jumped 55 or so.
That bummed me out – because I wanted to know how many people favorited me because they valued my site / content.
Now that opportunity has been forever skewed.
StumbleUpon has more power and overall blog value than anything this linktrain could’ve provided.
Dawud
would you consider my Promotion without Expectation community project?
At the end of the day, I think it brought you 69 new people who may have never seen your site before. Hopefully, your content has given them a reason to come back and you have at least got 1 loyal reader to your site because of this meme. At the end of the day, if all of has learned something from this experiment, then I don’t think we can say that we have waste our time at all.
Dawud,
Good points.
Just wanted to say that traffic-building memes can actually sprout into conversations and interactions between readers of a certain blog.
While their primary motive is interlinking and traffic, meditations on the meme’s original purpose or goal can lead to very productive and beneficial interactions for all readers involved.
My original post on the Technorati Favorites Exchange (Not the Link Train) is a good example of that happening. You can actually click on the followup post below to see some of the creative posts and ideas which were spawned from it.
They come from people like Engtech, Neil Halstead and Andy Beard among several others whom I have not listed.
Dealing with Some Criticisms on the Technorati Favorites Exchange Experiment
It’s important to remember that the type or structure of the meme is not the issue here. It’s type of readers or bloggers involved who make the difference.
Karin H.,
You make a good point. I have gained a few readers that I can confirm from the meme. Yet I don’t think my time was warranted. I think it’s just a good learning experience.
thepaperbull
Yeah, I know what you mean. The sad thing for me is that I use my own Technorati faves from time to time just to check on a number of blogs I watch. Now, I’m going to have to go through and clean them all out.
I hear you regarding Stumble.
Maki,
Ah, sorry. I missed that somewhere. Sorry. I’ll edit my post as soon as I complete this comment. Thanks for straightening me out.
Sure, there may have been a little good to come from it – a few readers. But I don’t look at 69 comments that all relate to ‘add me to your favorites’ as being a success. For me, I’m not blogging for numbers. I’m blogging for conversation and building relationships. So the great majority of those comments are not creating conversation.
So I don’t think that the Technorati meme was a bad thing in general. I think it’s the wrong approach for me – that’s all.
The favorite meme didn’t really do much for me. However, it did expose me to some new blogs that I’m now reading so it wasn’t all a waste. I think that’s truly the benefit of memes is the exposure.
Gary,
Thanks for your input. I agree with you in principle. Sure, even one new reader is great.
As I’ve written about many times, my blog is about and for my readers. What I don’t want to do is waste their time with memes that don’t really give them anything in return. Okay, they could join in and get a little traffic. But what value are they getting from my blog content? So I’m choosing not to engage in these traffic-building memes any longer.
I’m not going to take the stand that they’re wrong in general, at least not yet. They may work for others. Yet I don’t see them working in creating conversation. And that’s what my blog is about – reading & conversation.
hi dawud.
i have to say that although i know nothing about blogs, and i’m basically updating my blogs for friends (who never ever comment but email or call me directly!!!), your blog has been extremely helpful. although i don’t visit everyday, i have been coming back every other day through my technorati favorites site.
i haven’t participated in any memes (coz god knows, i don’t know what they are yet). and i’m sorry that all your efforts don’t seem that they have made a difference to your traffic. i do have to tell you that i think you do have a very interesting and interactive blog, even though i’m just one small count in your traffic stats. 🙂
Maki,
Sure, I follow what you’re saying – and even agree to some point. And, I’m saying that I don’t feel that memes benefit the current people who read my blog. So then the issue becomes do I use memes to try to find new folks or if I use other means. For now, I’m interested in other means.
gilda*su,
Thanks. You make a great point and I do think that there’s been some benefit out of the Technorati Faves meme – as I mentioned. I just don’t feel it’s the way I want to continue to get the word out about my blog.
Thank you so much for stopping by and joining the conversation. I hope that my blog continues support you as I can.
Doug,
Yeah, I know. I think this was more of an experiment for me wondering what would happen if I was in the Technorati Faves 100. Gaining a few readers this way is nice – thought they seem to have come through the meme and not through the faves list.
This type of exposure is nice. I just want to try some other things instead.
Hey, what ever happnened with you coming to SOBCon? Last time I asked you didn’t think you’d make it but weren’t totally sure.
I’ve just sat back and watched this whole thing evolve into the nightmare it has become. I say nightmare, not because I’m opposed to the whole idea, but because it has ended up quite heated.
I never participated, and this is my first comment on the issue. However, I don’t really regret that it happened. Because I was on one of the originals, I gained a heap of links and over 100 favs.
Armen,
Thanks for making my blog your place to first comment.
I don’t feel that these kind of memes are wrong in general. They just aren’t right for how I want to build interest in my blog. That doesn’t, however, mean that I feel it’s wrong for anyone else.
Could you say more about the nightmare you’ve witnessed?
You have been favorited. 🙂
Link to Alan’s site.
Well just for one example, if you read some of the comments on the post Darren Rowse wrote, you’ll have noticed some of them were downright nasty.
What people don’t realise is, by being nasty to one of the most respected bloggers around, you’re upsetting thousands of others. In turn, you’re all but guaranteeing that it’ll be a loooonng time before you ever receive a link-back from those you’ve upset.
Not good for the community.
Dawud, I’m late to this conversation, but it’s a fascinating one.
The thing no one mentioned though is theme. Memes are fun, but typically they distract a blog from its thematic purpose. Blogs are all about community, true, but that blogger plays host to that community.
When I get meme links, I never know what to do. My blog is about editing.
Like you, I address the ones that interest me. The ones that fit my theme… more or less.
And here’s what I’ve learned about Technorati ranks. They only measure traffic potential. So you have a million links. There might be many more millions clicking through those links.
More often, there no one at all clicks through. Especially meaningless link farm memes or bogus blog networks or blog rings or who knows what new trick people will think up next.
I don’t think people expect these tricks to be tricks. I’m not questioning anyone’s motives here.
I’m just trying to remember that the best inbound links come from a carefully targeted market. Since I can’t control these links, they are the most valid.
Armen,
I agree. I see no reason for people to take that tact with Darren – of all people. He freely gives great advice. And from what I know, he’s forthright with everything he’s done to be successful. People only need to read his blog and follow what he’s done and they have a great chance at success themselves.
Negativity never amounts to anything except negativity. Never a solution. Never a change in opinion. So it’s sad. And it’s sad to see how easily people flame Darren just for being honest. You’d think with his success people would think, “oh, he has a point. perhaps I should take it into account and not waste my time with fruitless endeavors,” and then thank him for it.
Personally, I’ve never met nor spoken with Darren Rowse. But I do know a few bloggers well who know him more than just in passing. And they always speak of Darren in the highest regard and with the utmost respect. When the time comes that I meet Darren, I expect that I’ll the Darren I hear about from my blogging friends. And then I’ll thank him for continuing to give so freely and openly at ProBlogger.
Hey D, know what? If you haven’t popped by to fave me, I wouldn’t know about you 🙂 So in a way, the technorati exchange to me to more than just driving traffic but an opportunity for me to know more bloggers. The networking bit came as a bonus and I’m thankful. I wouldn’t say it is a waste of time cos in a short course of time, many came by and know you exist. Though they may not be regular readers but this blog stays in their memory archive for a while. Thanks for dropping by, I’ll be back!
Mark & Doris,
I wrote my reply on my post titled: Meme-Linking: Is Everyone Missing My Point?
You make a good point. I have gained a few readers that I can confirm from the meme. Yet I don’t think my time was warranted. I think it’s just a good learning experience.