More links, less blather
A while back i stopped posting links to stuff i found in my rss reader. It all started with the basic assumption that there’s really no point in linking to boingboing or /., because if you’re reading this you’re subscribed to these sites anyway and even if you aren’t, a million other blogs amplify them anyway and there’s no point in wasting your time with yet another quick link to the latest meme making the rounds. From there this very flawed assumption spread across the majority of my subscriptions. Looking back at i’m probably not reading you i finally see clearly how wrong this was.
I miss a lot of interesting stuff the first time around. Sure, there’re interesting things piquing your interest at first glimpse, but more often than not, interesting things don’t. But as soon as i find the third reference to some article i ignored the first two times during my daily feed glimpsing i usually take notice, mostly to good effect. If it hadn’t been for its ubiquitous uptake in the blogosphere, i might’ve missed the long tail when it originally hit wired, one of the more glaring examples of how valuable this kind of blogospheric amplification is to me. Echochamber, my ass – people i find interesting like the same things i do? That’s fine with me, and it’s still a lot less self-important than taking the stance that your voice is the only one worth being listened to, a stance that many big media outlets still take these days.
David Weinberger mentioned this during his reboot7 talk and really drove the point home for me: whereas bloggers are generous in directing their readers elsewhere, more traditional media outlets don’t link externally. Look at the new york times – only internal links or ads. Basically they’re saying that there’s nothing worth reading anywhere else on the web, oh, except if you’re paying them, then you’re worth their reader’s attention, too. Absurdly enough pretty much all the media sites grounded off the web are taking this stance and it’s easy to see where they’re coming from once you realize that most news outlets just copy news agency reports anyway. All the while bloggers are worried about sitting in an echochamber.
Anyway, i’m getting a bit carried away here. What i’m trying to say: expect more links, less blather, because links are what make weblogs great in the first place.
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