MappingTheWeb //

This week, TechMeme officially launched its anticipated “Leaderboard”. The board tracks the top 100 news sources on TechMeme, based on the number of headlines attributed to each source over the previous thirty days. To some degree, it can be interesting to follow. But I think it poses more problems than benefits. What is truly the point of displaying the top 100 sources? It simply creates a hierarchy of power and inflated egos.

Such a ranking system isn’t what the blogosphere needs. We all know that TechCrunch is popular, but we don’t need to be reminded yet again. The so-called hierarchy (A-listers, B-listers, etc..) is a bunch of crap. Blogs are meant to break down these barriers. A leaderboard simply creates an echo-chamber and a positive feedback loop within the realm. In other words, blogs may be giving way to the manufactured world of popularity.

I don’t really care who has the biggest presence. I don’t care that a lot of people read XYZ blog. What I care about is the content - I truly appreciate insight and analysis beyond the basic facts. If the content is good excellent, readers will follow. They don’t need to be influenced by a ranking system to see what ‘everybody else’ is reading. This is the herd mentality.

Personally, I judge every blog based on the quality of each individual post. Over time, I become more and more loyal if the content meets or exceeds my expectations. On the contrary, I lose respect for blogs when the content begins to degrade and succumb to mediocrity.

The TechMeme Leaderboard simply reinforces the so-called leaders and ignores quality content from lesser known sources. The way I see it, this board does nothing more than provide an added marketing mechanism for TechMeme. Now, the ego maniacs at the top will re-visit the leaderboard on a daily basis to view how their ranking has changed. Lemmings and wannabes will also frequent the chart to catch a glimpse of their idols and get an idea of what they should be reading. Is this what the blogosphere was meant to be? I hope not.

In my opinion, the best quality content nowadays isn’t always found at the top. A lot of these blogs have taken a more conservative approach and refuse to take a stance or express an opinion. This creates appeal to a larger crowd, but shows neglect for the initial minority. To some degree, these blogs are moving toward the more traditional media model (shame on them). Lower level blogs have nothing to lose. Therefore, opinions and thoughts are articulated in a much more concise and thought-provoking manner. This is the reason such content shouldn’t be ignored.

Don’t get me wrong… I’ve always been a big fan of TechMeme in the past. I just think this new move may be one filled with ulterior motives.

PS. I’m not bitter about not making the list. I couldn’t care less. It isn’t the reason I blog.

There has been a huge fuss about TechCrunch’s valuation and a possible buy-out from CNET. A $100 million price tag has been tossed around and Arrington has joked about the whole situation. Rumours and possible acquisitors aside, let’s explore a deeper issue - the valuation. Digging even deeper, let’s take a look at how a blog (in particular) should be valued. Surprisingly enough, I’m not even going to use numbers.

Where does the true value of a blog come from? The content. Where does the content come from? The publisher. In the case of a multi-author blog, the true value is traced back to the original publisher. So what am I trying to say? A blog is worthless without the original publisher. Or, in this case, TechCrunch is worthless without Mike Arrington. You can strap a $100 million or $500 million price tag on the blog, but all goodwill is lost when the Arrington leaves. I think this is true for any blog. The user base is built around the style and perspective of the creator. All subsequent authors can try to mimick the original style, but it truly cannot be copied.

If CNET does buy TechCrunch, I doubt Arrington will be around for long. My guess is that he’s looking to pursue more exciting and captivating opportunities. If this does happen, what’s the outcome? Well, CNET will have bought the most expensive content management system in history.

NOTE: This post wasn’t meant to put down any of the other publishers or authors of TechCrunch. In fact, I have quite enjoyed most of their work. All I am illustrating is the need for the creator.

It’s been less than two weeks since launch and already BlogRush has vaulted into the Alexa top 1,000 (weekly average). It takes most start-ups, even the most viral, a year or two to crack this barrier, but BlogRush has managed to do it in less than half a month. This must mean something. This company is for REAL. This surge makes Twitter’s success look like a lifetime achievement.

So what is BlogRush? What’s all the fuss about?

To be honest, it’s a very simple concept. That’s why it works. People understand it and can see the value. The basic premise is this: you paste an embed code onto your blog. BlogRush displays a widget with the titles of 5 blog posts from blogs similar to yours. In other words, for every page loaded, 5 other blogs are gaining potential exposure and awareness via your site. In return for every page load your blog creates, one of your headlines appears on BlogRush widget on a different blog that is similar to yours. This ensures that nobody gets ripped off or cheated.

Now here’s the kicker: for every person that you refer to BlogRush (or that signs up below you), you will receive an additional headline view for every one of your referral’s page views. This works 10 levels down. So basically, the more people you get to sign up, the more traffic you can generate for your blog. Very smart concept. In essence, this idea is very similar to many web 1.0 concepts around traffic-sharing. However, I prefer to think of this idea as the ‘link exchange of the web 2.0 world’, as it harnesses the power of widgets.

Finally, is there a revenue model? Most widgets have a hard time implementing any sort of monetization. But I think BlogRush is different. Think of this… for any and all leftover inventory, BlogRush can sell the space to potential advertisers, looking to access relevant content and blogs. Furthermore, they may even be able to add network ads to fill in the holes.

Who knows… I may soon have to ‘rush’ out and add this widget. And perhaps you may want to sign up below me?

What do you think? Is BlogRush the most viral start-up we’ve seen thus far?

Any website or service that is dependent upon its users for survival can be categorized as a ’social media’ player. User-generated content (UGC) has formed the basis for numerous successful for start-ups. Without users who submit content, these sites are essentially worthless. What’s Flickr without photos? What’s YouTube without videos?

Two of the best examples are Wikipedia and Craigslist - undoubtedly the web’s two most famous .org’s. Who submits the content? Who does all the work? The users. Sure, the company created the system that facilitates the processes, but this is only a tiny portion of the overall effort. Such a scenario is the reason why small operations can scale on a low budget. Once again though, if users stop contributing, the service is useless. Put in a different context, the company isn’t the content provider, but rather the distribution mechanism. This is the basis for social media.

What if everyone stopped submitting news headlines and interesting articles? We’d have no more Digg. What if everyone stopped uploading videos? We’d have no more YouTube. Worse yet, what if everyone stopped blogging? We’d be stuck with whatever content that traditional media subjects to us. What a pity that would be.

In a future post, we will explore how social media can backfire and work in a counter-productive fashion, potentially destroying the company altogether.

When MyBlogLog launched in late 2006, it caught fire. Many of the big tech blogs immediately jumped on board and started using the service. This fueled massive PR and popularity shot to unprecendented heights. Soon, all the big tech blogs were taking advantage of the service. Then, only a couple of months later, Yahoo buys the company for $10 million. Since then, very little has changed and not much has been said about the company.

This simple, yet ingenious idea sparked for one reason: it provided value for both the blogger and the reader. The blogger was provided with a tool that encouraged repeat visitor loyalty, while the reader gained awareness and exposure (via the displayed avatar) in return.

After the Yahoo acquisition, the success and appeal of the service seemed to die off. To some degree, it became overrun with spam. Some were adding as many contacts as possible to market their blog, while others advertised via their personalized avatar. This was predictable. As is the case with Digg, any social media property that vaults to fame and attracts a large user base becomes susceptible to cheating and gaming.

Nevertheless, I am itching to know when the company will make some sort of announcement or launch a new version. Furthermore, how Yahoo plans to integrate the service is even more of a mystery. I assume this will become more clear in the days ahead with the transition strategy now in full-tilt.

How do you think MyBlogLog should proceed? How should Yahoo integrate the service?