On Monday, a new directory of blog content, blogs.com, launches from blogging software company Six Apart under the leadership of
Chris Alden.
Their announcement states,
"Blogs.com connects casual and devoted readers with the best blogs on
mainstream and niche topics. In order to ensure the highest quality content,
Blogs.com relies on expert editors to choose blogs and posts based on their
quality, popularity and relevance.'Blogs.com is a destination site for anyone who wants a fast, easy way to
find the best blog content out there," said Mena Trott, Co-Founder and
President of Six Apart. "Whether you're passionate about gardening or
gadgets, we'll guide you to the newest and highest quality posts in your area
of interest.''"
Although Alden's former colleague Rafe Needleman
refers to the concept as "retrograde," blogs.com is worth a try, because the destinations of web surfers (on PCs and mobile phones) are now dominated by mega SEO companies and bots that can ruin a blogger in a blink of code.
Needleman suggests that "social networking" is the way to go. You
mean like digg? Where one of the top diggs is titled "My Goldfish Died"? A photo cartoon where a lady tells a little girl that the hole the girl is digging is too big for a dead
goldfish to which the girl replies 'That's becuase it's inside your f****ing
cat."
To me, a cartoon which belittles little girls and insults cat owners is a waste of my time. So much social networking is done by teenage boys who are welcome to share their juvenile humor with each other. When I want to know a good source for news, I'll trust the founder of Rojo and former publisher of
Red Herring, Six Apart's Chris Alden over a bunch of pizza and hormone overdosed boys.
I also trust the opinionated yet well-informed Rafe Needleman for technology topic choices over the digger who posted the USA Today story titled "$5 Million Self-Cleaning Toilets Sold for $12,549 Online" in the technology section of diggs today.
Personally, I've also found Twittering another waste of time. I'm too busy writing news stories to let the world know what I've done lately. But due to media peer pressure, I have succumbed to trying to promote Wireless and Mobile News by Twittering about the latest post about Twitter and my earthquake experiences in the hopes of gaining Page Views. I have 34 followers some of whom look pretty cute. See this guy to the right, he's following me in Hong Kong, he edits a mobile lifestyle blog.
OMG I'm being so retro! I prefer talking to my friends on the phone rather than typing out texts and emails. I even occasionally handwrite a letter in long hand to my long time friend in New York and she (LOL) writes me back her dynamic scratches on torn-out spiral notebook paper!
Whew--You may notice that I'm being very techno-snippy and curmudgeonistic today. That's because after almost year of working every weekday: combing thousands of news sources; editing 1400 articles; and creating the Review of Reviews which has garnered more readers than most books and was so popular that pirates stole the text verbatim and put their byline on them, the Gogglebot bully knocked Wireless and Mobile News out of the running without a warning, reducing Page Views by 60%-70% and damned if I can figure out why.
We've pleaded on a web form to some unknown entity at Google's Webmaster Tools for reconsideration for our unknown sins. I spent the last week sweating it out, biting my nails and eating too much retro frozen yogurt.
During the recent earthquake in Southern California, while posting to Wireless and Mobile News, the 5.4 trembler hit. Did I run for cover? Check the gas pipes for leaks? See if my elderly neighbors were safe? No way. I tried to figure out how I can beat CNN to the story. As the aftershocks rumbled and my monitor shook, I looked for my personal earthquake story to show up on Google News, but CNN and LA Times were more highly ranked and nothing right from this horse's mouth showed up. I kept searching Google news to no avail. I now believe that Wireless and Mobile News stories only show up for "mobi" news searches.
In the early days of the Internet, when I wrote for UPI and Investor's Business Daily, when I searched for eyeglasses, every search engine turned up different results. Dogpile was a goldmine of neat new resources and showed a kaleidoscope of possibilities and choices. This month, when I searched on Ask.com, Google, Yahoo!, MSN, and Dogpile, they all showed pretty much the same results and sources. A new eyewear resource would have to spend a lot of time and money to get noticed.
People are spending their entire lives trying to figure out how to improve Google rankings and how to get the Holy-Grailish coveted # 1 position. Google just keeps vexing them like the devil incarnate, coming up with new ways for them to sell their souls. I was ready to sign up with that Silicon Valley Satan to get Wireless and Mobile News' Page Views back, roast in hell for eternity for "hits" and then the news about blogs.com came.
Hallelujah! Maybe that angel, Chris Alden and his editors will grant the "new blog on the block" edited by someone with nearly two decades experience a chance at a few pings and new readership.
Are you reading this blogs.com? We're praying for a better way to find good information sources devoid of tasteless cat jokes and toilet humor.
Please note we use Movable Type, a Six Apart product. Hint, hint, hint. 😉
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