Getting links from A-listers

Maybe I should just stop doing my link blog cause so few people are linking to it.

Oh so you are unhappy because they are linking to the source and not to your copy of the source? I don't get you sometimes.

Nah, I'm not communicating well. Here's what I was getting at: simply linking to people won't get them to notice or link back anymore. That used to work in the old days but now you've gotta be bombastic, or otherwise interesting.

Here, watch what happens when the exact same content shows up on Fast Company's site. I bet a TON of people link to THAT. Heheh.

Actually, I was going to link to your link blog this week until I read that article... which I found because of your link blog! How ironic.

The link blog is really great, Robert, and I'd hope it would stay. You've come across some really great gems (like the Morin post). Very enjoyable.

I love your link blog, I've unsubscribed from the high traffic news sites and just browse your link blog instead :)

I'm sure that many more people read your link blog, and even subscribe to it, than link to it.

The type of people that WOULD link to your link blog, already have tons of Feeds themselves, so why peek at the raw feed material of someone else, when you can tailor your own?

The type of people too busy to feed read would be the target audience, but then most of your content is all half insider baseball, blog politics and random acts of egg puffery and self-serving geeky social media thwaping, which is a waste of their time.

So really, no market need, niche is best to hope for. Only this niche has the tools and knowledge themselves, and skips over. Now if go political, celebrity or such, you could get Drudgey or Perez hit numbers, have to tailor to the mass.

I don't link to your link blog, but I am happy to link to your blog whenever appropriate, because you do link through to differing opinions.

It type of grates on me to link through to people who don't link through to differing opinions, but all I can do is show them how to do it consistently and hope it rubs off.

I notice Valleywag prefer to link through to their tag for you rather than directly.

I do link to tags sometimes as well, but normally in adition to a link through to a post.

I've wanted to link to items in your link blog from time to time, but I can't figure out how to do it. The feed that I get (in RSS Bandit) clicks through to the article you've linked. I can't get to the link blog.

So there.

Add value, not links.

Your link blog is one of the best examples I know of to show that having a human editor involved in sifting content will always beat an algorithm. Real value.

... no matter what Coulter says.

Why not integrate the link blog on Google Reader in your main blog as well (like in the sidebar) - when people notice backlinks from your blog, they are more likely to notice it.

Links saved on Google reader don't offer any technorati juice but if the same thing is put in your blog sidebar, atleast Technorati Bots would index them.

I like Amit's suggestion. You could so that w/ Google's feed API.

Randy/Amit: I'd love to do that but I have to change my deal with Wordpress. I'll work on that. I don't have control of my template (it's a custom job that Matt did for me and it's hard to get widgets added there).

Here's a simple starting point.
http://www.therssweblog.com/?guid=20070419223226
Copy this, put your own link blog rss, get your own key, add styles.

Robert: Why not use Google Notebook and choose links to really good posts instead and use that feed. Then you don´t have to publish the whole content. Isn´t there a copyright problem publishing other peoples whole content?

If you instead use Google Notebook you can select a part and thus cite them together with a back link to them this will keep everyone happy. You can point more directly to an important part of a post and the copyright holder gets a link.

You can also use Tumblr to show the feed to making it more appetizing. I wouldn´t link to a feed that i feel is infringing copyright.

Randy/Amit: I’d love to do that but I have to change my deal with Wordpress. I’ll work on that. I don’t have control of my template (it’s a custom job that Matt did for me and it’s hard to get widgets added there).

If you don't have control over your blog then you have a VERY CRAPPY deal with Wordpress.

Bengt: I am not infringing copyright. If anyone who is on that feed doesn't want to be on it, I'll remove it immediately. There's also a grey area on copyright, which includes fair use. I'm not using everything people put up, only about one out of every 13 things I read gets onto my link blog. It's also not automatic and there's also no advertising.

The reason the link blog works is because it's efficient. If I had to use Google Notebook it'd take a lot more time. I would never do such a thing.

Nima: well, I don't consider it a bad deal in return for what I get. If I ever do I'll move it somewhere else.

Robert, I guess Wordpress now has widgets for embedding external RSS feeds in the blog sidebar.. Not sure why you can't do that.

Robert: I sort of figured that was the thing. I also am thinking that in time there will come advertising in the feeds and they probably be VERY happy to be in your Linkblog.

Noooooo! You can't stop. I beg you! I find it an invaluable filter of the blogosphere, second only to TechMeme. So I've posted a (belated, I'm sorry) reciprocal link for citing my Bytes 'n' Bobs post :-)

Your Link blog is invaluble. I share items from it thru Google Reader all the time.

Keep it up!!

Your link blog is a marvel, and gives me ideas on how to improve Techmeme. I just promoted it in Techmeme's twitter feed:
http://twitter.com/Techmeme/statuses/78199982

So perhaps threatening to not link works as well as not linking! :)

Gabe, thanks, from you that means a lot. Of course I do notice it has an effect on TechMeme too! :-)

That is funny, I was going to say your link blog is as important to me as techmeme, but they went and said it for me. Scobie do you need reciprocal links? I don't think so. But your linkblog is just another quality service you are providing. Don't bury it soon.

Thanks Don and everyone. I'll try to keep it up.