A-List Google Reader Back-Slapping
Sunday, October 14th, 2007;
-- Andy Beal |
Over the weekend, Google started displaying Google Reader subscriber numbers for blog RSS feeds. The number shows how many Google Reader users have subscribed to a particular feed–note, only Google Reader users.
I was going to add the news to Monday’s Pilgrim’s Picks, but something else happened.
Michael Arrington and Robert Scoble jumped on the opportunity to create yet another Top “Blah Blah Blah” list of blogs.
As expected, the list has quickly turned into a mess.
Why? As what always happens whenever someone tries to compile a list of blogs: someone gets left out. This usually happens because the list is confined to the small piece of the blogosphere the compiler lives in. Consequently, there’s a lot of “add me” or “you forget this blog” comments.
Here’s some honesty. I love seeing Marketing Pilgrim on any list–like many bloggers–and I suggested MP be added to this new list. Guilty, as charged. But then I stopped and asked, “when will this blog-list insanity stop?” Do we really need to keep compiling lists of top blogs?
The blogosphere is all about the “long tail.” If we continue to highlight only the top 0.0001% blogs we do nothing but encourage the echo-chamber when instead we should be trying to delve deeper/wider into the blogosphere.
What do you think? Do we need another top blog list?
(Note: Scoble & Arrington should know this is not a personal attack on them, but the concept of blog-lists).
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October 14th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
I just made a list of blogs on my blog. But I was looking for other parenting blogs and asked the people that read my blog to add their own and the favorite one that they read. So it ended up being a nice little list of a lot of new blogs.
As for big lists of top bloggers making lists of all the top blogs, I never read them when they get posted. But I guess getting lists from people like Scoble would be good for SEO whether anybody clicks on the link or not.
October 14th, 2007 at 10:21 pm
[...] Andy Beal of Marketing Pilgrim has the right idea: Here’s some honesty. I love seeing Marketing Pilgrim on any list–like many bloggers–and I suggested MP be added to this new list. Guilty, as charged. But then I stopped and asked, “when will this blog-list insanity stop?” Do we really need to keep compiling lists of top blogs? [...]
October 14th, 2007 at 11:58 pm
Any a-lists or top ten lists do two things, they bring people to your site, and then generate lots of debate. Also, they usually require less effort than typing an actual full length blog post. So the only negative is really for those who don’t join in the debate, whether included in the list or not. Either gripe that you aren’t on it, or praise yourself that you have been included, but please do something. Actionable intelligible useful content generated by long tail users will be the basis for web 3.0, that and streaming live HDTV over broadband. CNN is finally listening to bloggers, look for other media outlets to do the same. They actually linked one of my posts.
October 15th, 2007 at 12:00 am
btw, a big wad of hate at your red toolbar with uber cool lowercase letters.
October 15th, 2007 at 12:06 am
Toolbar? Are you jealous of our navigation?
October 15th, 2007 at 6:39 am
Creating tops is useless.
October 15th, 2007 at 9:34 am
No, we do not need any more blog lists. Enough is enough!
October 15th, 2007 at 9:37 am
I agree Andy. Top lists are garbage. I want to find the small man at the bottom of the barrel, that is trying to make his way up. Very focused, niche blogs are where its at.
Will those sort of blogs ever make a list, probably not. But does that mean there not worth reading, definitely not.
A list of potential blogs that have less than 50 readers, but have solid content. Now that would be worth seeing.
October 15th, 2007 at 10:13 am
@Brian - a list of “fastest growing” blogs would be something worth compiling.
October 15th, 2007 at 2:00 pm
[...] see Squash, Problogger, The Webpreneur, TimBray, Sam Harrelson, MarketingPilgrim, DataMining, Scoble, Stowe Boyd, Louis Gray, WinExtra, Technology Evangelist, Lee Odden, Matt [...]
October 16th, 2007 at 12:20 am
Add me to the growing list of people tired of seeing the top blog lists. At this point can’t we already name them off the top of our heads. Do we really need another list to tell us who has the most subscribers?
April 3rd, 2008 at 8:02 am
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May 25th, 2008 at 11:22 am
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