Technorati Favorites Exchange - My Motivation, Tactics and Concluding Thoughts
In response to the recent Technorati Favorites Link Exchange.
Motivation
On the surface it may seem as though gaining a leg up in the Technorati “top 100″ (by fans), was my only angle here. It wasn’t. In fact, of the six reasons, it was lowest on the totem pole:
1. Engage the Entrecard community. Some of you Entrecard users may have noticed a resurgence in my participation. I’m back in the top 10 position for the “Make Money Online” category and I drop like it’s AD 79 and I live in Pompeii. Why? Because I was beginning to believe, like so many others, that the Entrecard boom had come to a slow and sputtering simmer. I was about ready to “forget” my login information and mosey on down the never ending digital tubes to the next new and exciting community. However, before I quit anything, I like to exhaust every possible opportunity, and before now, all I had done was “drop.”
So, I decided to do something where I could invite members of the Entrecard community to participate.
2. Meet new people. I was certain that not everyone would just drop in, exchange their Technorati information and hurry along — I was right. Some of you had questions, some had stories of similar exchanges you’ve previously participated in, some just wanted to chat, some invited me to private communities — it was wonderful, and it’s what I was hoping for.
What we do here is socialize and sometimes we forget that — we run rampant trying to increase our exposure and fatten our numbers in order to get people reading and commenting on our work, in order to feel as if we’re making some kind of difference in society and so we can find solace and approbation in our own experiences by finding others who can relate.
3. Glimpse the motivations of my fellow bloggers. I wanted to learn the why? Why do people participate in these things? Beside the obvious initial, zombie-like thought — “Must increase numbers.”
4. Promote my banner making skills. I make extra income by doing a tad bit of design work, among other things. What better way to show off those skills than by making some cool banners and buttons people can display on their sites to promote the exchange.
5. Gain backlinks. People talk about stuff on the internet, it’s what we do. So, naturally there would be posts made that direct others to join the exchange. Not only that, but it’s extremely difficult to resist the urge to add one of the banners or buttons I created to your sidebar. :o)
6. Increase my Technorati favorites rank. Yep. All you need is about 250 “faves” to break into the “top 100″ list. And how cool is it to show your non-blogging friends that you’re ranked along side the top blogs in “all the internets!” ;o)
Tactics
As of this writing, there are over 200 participants. I achieved this turnout in 2 ways:
- Entrecard email - there are a large group of Entrecard users that participate heavily in the community and I made an effort to email each one to tell them about the exchange. I also emailed a few others who I found interesting. This was one of the “opportunities” I spoke about up above that I had, until now, previously ignored — the Entrecard email system. Some people might call this spamming — I call it emailing. No bots were involved. ;o)
- Encouraging promotion - like I mentioned above, I created the banners and buttons as a way to encourage promotion of the exchange.
Concluding Thoughts
My main goals were achieved — I met alot of interesting people and made a few new friends. I gained backlinks, made two banner design sales and increased my Technorati favorites number from 4 to 181. I learned that most bloggers just want more people reading their work, some want to increase their page views for monetary opportunities and even fewer just like the feeling of being popular. However, there are some who despise the exchange and view it as “gaming the system.” One such person says,
“I can’t believe this. Not ONE of you finds this disgusting? Gotta tell you: I have zero respect for anyone who is part of this.”
Whoa, buddy. Someone ate way too much cereal this morning and is feeling a bit too fibrous. Seriously though, as harsh as that was, I think it represents the sentiment of a great deal of people.
Let’s take a look: The real power of Technorati is in the “authority” ranking, which is different from the “favorites” ranking.
Let’s say for instance, I have a necklace with a pendant that says “I’m one of Jay’s favorites!” and I meet someone, let’s call her Jane — she has a necklace as well, but hers says, “I’m one of Jane’s favorites!” We decide to exchange necklaces in order to boost our egos and appear more important than we actually are. This is like a Technorati favorites exchange — not gaming, using.
Now, let’s say I have $1 and I meet a man who also has $1. I give him my dollar and he invests the $2, which in time, doubles. He then gives me back $2 and keeps the other $2 for himself. We engaged in an exchange that effectively doubled our worth and not only that, but we now have a financial leg up on everyone else and will soon realize that our ability to increase our net worth just became easier. We didn’t do it on our own and through the merit of our individual efforts. This is like a Technorati authority exchange — gaming. (not that I have anything against pooling money to invest).
One is potentially damaging to the people creating quality, linkable content and the other is just a fun, ego-boosting friend-making good time.
There are people who find it morally troubling to click a button that says “fave” when they don’t like the content. Fine. Then browse around and only “fave” the ones you actually like. There were many people who emailed me saying they added me because they’ve read my content and enjoyed it but didn’t have the time or inclination to fish around for others.
Remember, it isn’t the actual “fave” that makes it worthwhile, it’s the “faving” — the act of engaging, meeting, learning and experiencing new people.
I understand the artificial feeling one gets from having a bunch of people say they like you only because they expect you to say the same about them. But, realize that some of them actually do like you. Either way, as the facts of where the “faves” came from slowly dissipates, you’re left with a simple means to spike your motivation in times of drought — out of the millions of blogs in the “sphere,” you’re hovering damn close to the cream of the crop.
Thanks to everyone who participated and who gave their thoughts and opinions. It was fun. :o)
P.S. Check out Rudy’s thoughts.
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
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Weeeell, I have to admit that what at first seemed like a good idea left me feeling pretty dirty. The time to fav everyone didn’t take much, thanks to that nifty little program from ABS, but…
Yeah. I have a bunch of favs pointing to blogs I know nothing about. I don’t have the time and energy to start looking at all of them either. Sorry, because there may be some good ones in that set.
My own results? Well, the “exchange” only turned in 71 favs for me. S’okay. Do I really want to “buy” my friendship to go rub shoulders with Copyblogger?
Actually, no. I already rub shoulders with Copyblogger. And I realized that if I can’t earn my favs the honest way, I don’t really want them.
Also, the quality traffic isn’t there. I won’t go read all these blogs, and the chances are anyone who faved me won’t come read mine. It’s like Entrecard - we’re using each other like pimps and prostitutes, which doesn’t sit right with me at all.
I don’t mind being part of your experiment. I don’t mind experimentation myself, and that’s what this was. As I mentioned to Tony, I like to learn things the hard way. That’s what experience is all about.
And I think this one didn’t bring me to the “cream of the crop,” as your closing suggests. Our blog is already in the cream of the crop. I guess I had to learn that I knew that regardless of the points or scores or PRs or faves that are considered authority proof.
That said, what’s your next experiment?
James Chartrand - Men with Pens’s last blog post..Should You Let Scrapers Link to Your Blog?
I agree James, although I’m not sure if these are just your thoughts (I think they are) or a response to what mine were (in which case I think you missed my point). ;o)
I don’t see what is so dishonest about it, the rules are plain to see and nothing is hidden.
Didn’t mean to make you feel all dirty. *hands you a washcloth*
My closing statement was meant to insinuate that if at any point one is feeling unmotivated they can click through to the tech top 100 and see that it only takes 250 to reach that list and “71″ in your case ain’t that far off — it’s just the idea that sometimes refuels motivation.
But I definitely agree, you’ve got to radiate confidence above all else.
My next experiment? It has to do with “ideas” and it’s going to be exciting. :o)
@ Jay - Definitely my thoughts, just rambled out as they came to mind and not necessarily in reaction to your post but more of a personal exploration.
YOU didn’t make me feel dirty either, nor did your actions. I don’t see what you did as dishonest, either, make no mistake. What you did was open and fine, and what happened was exactly what should have happened.
What did make me feel dirty was my personal involvement in something that I thought would feel okay but that ended up going against my values and beliefs. I had to do it to learn where I stood on the line of exchange-for-fame. I already had an inkling, as we don’t do blogroll and we don’t exchange links with others, but this one was a new one. Sorta.
Plus, I’m human. The call to glory is a sorely strong temptation and I do leverage means I think are okay to get there.
Now. Give me that washcloth, I’m going to roll in the snow, and get on with the “ideas” experiment, because you know I’ll be all over that one
James Chartrand - Men with Pens’s last blog post..Should You Let Scrapers Link to Your Blog?
Ha! I can already see Tony Lawrence cringing (maybe threw up in his mouth) at the thought of this exchange. That guy never believes in social media sites. But then again, Tony never answers my comment that I leave on his blog, so I guess he has high expectations.
I think Jay’s motivation is double-edged, and we knew that from the start. It was to stir thoughts that eventually lead to discussion. I also think if we didn’t think twice about doing this exchange, then we need to (re-)check our purpose for blogging. Like Jay said, it’s all about meeting new people and the community.
Oh by the way, I’m somewhat amused when I saw all of my Technorati favs I gathered from Jay’s list are all EntreCard users. Still thinking of dropping EntreCard?
Rudy’s last blog post..Being Reciprocal
@ Rudy - Yup, I am. I’ve toyed with it, left it sit, ignored it, played with it, used it for advertising here and there.
Results? Low-quality traffic. High rates of dropping to grab credits. CRAP advertisers applying for a place on our blog (instant reject). Completely irrelevant advertisers applying for a position on our blog (double-instant reject).
All advertising that I’ve done on better quality blogs results in zero, zip and nil traffic.
*sigh* Still, I leave it. There are a few smaller blogs that use Entrecard for what it was meant - to advertise on blogs they can’t afford to advertise on.
I see no reason to encourage it or keep it alive. And yes, when I see the square, I click and drop, with absolutely no expectation of anything good to come of it.
Overall result - zero.
As for Jay, he always has double-edged ideas. That’s part of what makes him cool and intriguing.
James Chartrand - Men with Pens’s last blog post..Are You Accepting Dirty Money?
I think you wrote about a few interesting things. I was glad to add you to my Technorati. I had already done so before the email from you. I use it for blogs I want to read.
If I find a replacement for Technorati I will move my blog list over and could consider making Technorati a linkfest.
Laura’s last blog post..Outside the Envelope #4
James: Maybe you are being too particular in which ads you take or blogs you put ads on.
Laura’s last blog post..Outside the Envelope #4
@ Laura - Ummm, yes. You’re suggesting I should not be?
James Chartrand - Men with Pens’s last blog post..Are You Accepting Dirty Money?
I think that’s what I wrote. Did you need bigger words?
Laura’s last blog post..Outside the Envelope #4
I think you need a bigger understanding about how hitting certain personal standards for quality makes a difference in the business world. Unless you don’t give a rat’s ass about integrity… because you sure as hell don’t give a rat’s ass about manners.
Oh, right, this is the Internet. We can say anything we want with no consequences.
Idiot.
James Chartrand - Men with Pens’s last blog post..Are You Accepting Dirty Money?
Uh ohh. Someone agitated the crown.
@James - Had a feeling they were just your thoughts. The call to glory is indeed tempting. I’m really looking forward to the “ideas” experiment and yes, I know you’ll be all over it. ;o)
@James and Laura - When I first read over the comment I didn’t understand it. I just assumed Laura must have left out a word or two, or meant something different. But I guess I was just hoping you did. But, as it reads, it’s pretty damn insulting and if you meant it the way James obviously read it, shame on you. What’s up with the attitude? Bad day?
Anyway, I hope it was just a misunderstanding — if it wasn’t, well done on the rebuttal James.
@Rudy - What good is a sword without two razor sharp edges? I need to be able to hack a path in front as well as behind, otherwise I’m just cutting in circles. Think twice, cut once…or something like that. ;o)
On being artificial…
Every altruistic thing is subject to abuse. We risk the artificial in favor of the sincere. The same could be said about buying someone a birthday gift. Are they more likely to say or do something kind to you in return than they were before they received the gift? Do they mean it genuinely or do they want more gifts?
Cool experiment.
A great way for gaining backlinks through entrecard is to donate to contest. I gained 10 backlinks from one contest that way.
Josh’s last blog post..Just like dating, one month and counting
Calling someone an idiot is well done? Maybe for a 12 year old.
Laura’s last blog post..Smiley Saturday #2
Actually, I was referring to the 5o words before that.
I’m not “cringing”.
I’m actually happy to see that James belatedly recognized that this behavior was not something he should have done - he has far too much class to be involved in something like this.
I remain mildly disgusted by those of you who don’t understand that.. and trust me on this: artificial favor trading does NOT make you anything like “cream”.
And no, Rudy, it’s not that I “don’t believe in social media”. I just don’t believe in misusing it.
Wow. You’re harsh, judgmental and unfortunately, the class you attribute to James hasn’t rubbed off on you. Here’s a bean bag chair and a box of Oreos — relax.
Actually, I think I understand where Tony’s coming from. He’s looking at the purity of this whole blogging and social media thing. That’s all noble and good. But since we’re talking about the internet, sometimes a “shortcut” (or gaming the system) may be used, as long as the system allows it. You really can’t blame the masses for trying. Like any system, it’s flawed. It’s also fixable.
If the system no longer works, no worries, just move on. We don’t have to take this internet thing (way) too seriously.
Rudy’s last blog post..Musique Non Stop
When I became a part of this faving, I made sure to visit all the blogs once and faved only the ones I could see myself reading.
Raj’s last blog post..Fresh From The Randomizer
I’ve got to say, James C has pretty much summed up my own feelings coming out of this experiment - but that’s not all bad. He also said, “As for Jay, he always has double-edged ideas. That’s part of what makes him cool and intriguing.” And I concur with that, too!
FWIW, here’s an interesting result of the experiment: my Technorati authority ranking dropped 10 points from start to finish, and not a single visitor from the Technorati site in that time. But hey, what’s life for if not to experiment and play around? And I did find three great new blogs to read, in the process. 
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