Robert Scoble & Steve Gillmor - Keeping Blogs for the Elite

Know More: A VC, Mr. Scoble 2.0, A VC

Robert Scoble wrote a post about 'gestures' and how they are better than linking. As far as I can tell, 'gestures' are basically emailing someone a link they might find interesting. What upsets me most is the idea that linking in a blog post isn't valuable. This idea comes from Steve Gillmor originally.

Fred over at A VC, which was talked about in the article, but not linked to, has it right:

To me linking is the single most important thing about the web. Google's whole system is based on links. If it weren't for links, the web would suck.

Not only that, it encourages participation by readers at all skill levels. Scoble and Gillmor are assuming that people have the ability to find the links/articles/information they refer to easily. Let me share something with you, not everyone is comfortable using the internet or has the confidence or skills to find what you are talking about. I'm talking about ordinary, every day people who just don't view the ability to search Technorati as a life skill worth cultivating (or even know what Technorati is).

I love blogs because of their ease of use for the reader. Links are understandable by all people. Not to mention they make it very easy for readers to refute your argument or interpretation of another post - maybe that is what Gillmor really fears.

I'd also like to point out that I attempted to find Steve's original article about gestures - assuming there must be one - since Scoble didn't link to it. I searched on Technorati and didn't find it within a reasonable amount of time. So there is another problem with not linking - how much time are we supposed to spend trying to find the information you are talking about, which you already have but can't be bothered to link to?

So is it ironic that you don't link to Gillmor's blog? Might be helpful since googling 'gillmor blog' doesn't get you to the right results...

Posted by: Skeptic | August 3, 2006 12:17 PM | Permalink to Comment

It wasn't meant to be ironic - I forgot! But you illustrate the problem I have with non-linking perfectly...

He is at: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Gillmor/

Posted by: Diane Ensey | August 3, 2006 12:27 PM | Permalink to Comment

I agree that linking is the key. It is why I do an occassional "link fest" on a blog entry to keep those links flowing.

I call it "In and Around the Net". Just doing my part!

Posted by: WindowsObserver | August 3, 2006 7:31 PM | Permalink to Comment

Yes. I agree. Linking and linkbacks are the single most important elements of blogs and sites nowadays. It keeps the content of blogs fresh and the traffic coming in.

Posted by: colbert | August 4, 2006 7:50 AM | Permalink to Comment

A digest of the top blogger thoughts and ideas - The A listers

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