The dilemma facing Newspaper and Magazine blogs
One key to the success of Frank Wilson’s literary blog, he tells us, is linking.
Noticing the stampede of new magazine and newspaper blogs now inhabiting the plains…doubtless a jealous lunge at lit blogosphere readership, a wish to casserole them into advertiser fodder, I wonder about their linking policies.
The whole idea of commercial websites is to draw and delay visitors, to keep them around long enough for stuff to be sold to them. Links are invitations for these buyers to screw off. To exit. They’re like channel changers. One has to wonder then, if and/or when some sort of link policy will impose itself on media hosted blogs, one alternate to the pure desire to inform, to foster germane interest, to provide service, that lies beneath most lit blogger linking practices…okay, we also want to generate traffic…but the impetus is not primarily a commercially driven one. I’ve already noted a preference for media blogs to link to other media-owned sites over independent lit blog sites, to link to other pages in their own corporate bodies, to link, in other words, to places that can benefit business.
I’m not suggesting that this commercialism undermines quality, yet, at least. Rather that an insidious temptation to sell links, for example, to enter into link swapping pacts, must lurk at least in the minds of some advertising department heads.
Perhaps I’m being too cynical.
June 8th, 2008 at 7:56 PM
Naturally people will want to link to, and especially be linked to, sites that have higher traffic as long as they can provide genuine service to their readers. The search engine spiders reward real content people look for primarily, and links in are a recognition of that. When you do provide a link, make it so it opens a new window so readers are still on your site. Andrew
June 9th, 2008 at 3:56 PM
I am involved in several blogs where I work (a large commercial publisher) as well as a social network we run. We and the users of our social network (regular scientists and those in science-related professions) use lots of links, at their own discretion, based on editorial criteria, ie what the poster thinks will interest readers. That’s the only way it can work, in my opinion (and yours, I think?).
June 9th, 2008 at 10:50 PM
Andrew: will investigate that option. Thanks.
Maxine: I do agree with you that, as with traditional media, credibility of editorial content is essential…without it you lose readers…without them you lose advertisers…so yes, the proverbial wall between the two must be solid…however, as mentioned, I have seen an early trend among the spate of new literary related big media operated blogs, to link to their own…to favour traditional news sources, as opposed to ‘legitimate’ independent lit blogs…