How is your Comment Quality Quotient?

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At a conference, I heard someone trying to explain the Comment Quality Quotient theory to a small group during a break. It went something like this:

You got your good comments. You got your bad comments. You got your comment spam. Somewhere in the middle, you got your time waster comments. Which do you want more of? Which do you want less? Which do you want gone?

The better the comments on your blog, the better your blog, right? So you need to improve your Comment Quality Quotient.

While everyone agreed that comment spam and “bad” comments were unwanted, a number of the group agreed they wanted the time waster comments gone as well. They all wanted good, clear, quality comments that contributed to their content. The problem was determining how to improve their Comment Quality Quotient.

How do you improve the quality of your blog comments? The ratio of valuable comments from the time wasters and boring commenters?
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MyBlogLog Adds Address Book Icons

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The folks over at MyBlogLog have added support for both vCard and hCard. Visually, it means two icons on MyBlogLog profiles, which taps into your address book.

What’s more, hCard is a microformat. Like the other microformats we have added to MyBlogLog recently — XFN and Rel=me — hCard makes it easier for members to use their MyBlogLog information at other services around the internet.

Read more about hCard here, and the MyBlogLog blog post of course, if you’re interested.

Unconferences: Useful or a Waste of Time?

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“Unconventions” or “unconferences” are the new schmoozefest of choice. From PodCamp to BarCamp, folks step out from behind their computers, gel their hair, and pick out a casual shirt that says, ‘I’m relevant.’

Here’s my question: Can a room full of people, many of whom have the same goals, really help take your Website or blog to the next level?

I understand you can learn stuff and form relationships. But how does this information differ from what we read or do online?

Bloggers might be better served attending an expo – within their niche – that is more than just other bloggers. It seems to me that blogging and podcasting circles have become quite incestuous. A bunch of folks tooting their own horns, collecting swag and exchanging business cards.

I’ve never been a fan of trade shows, expos, unconferences or whatever else you want to call them. Perhaps it’s the anti-sales introvert in me resisting.

Open my eyes.

Do you think these events really help? And can anyone quantify specifically how they’ve helped your blog? (Aside from getting other bloggers to click over and/or link to you – which I understand is a big part of the game).

I’m toying with the idea of attending PodCamp this coming weekend. How can I make the most of the experience?

Valleywag Blogger Got Fired, Ensuing Confusion

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valleywag.jpgJordan Golson used to write for Valleywag, but he got the can, and that turned up as a story on TechCrunch. Apparently there were errors, because two edits were needed by the post author, being Michael Arrington. Initially it was implied that the firing was due to the criticizing April 1 post on the new payment structure for Gawker bloggers, but that was later denied. Yes, Valleywag is a Gawker Media blog, in case you’ve missed that.
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If You Don’t Write With Keywords, Will It Hurt Your Blog?

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Recently, I got the following comment on :

I just set up my blog and I am still trying to get everything in line. When I write original content, does it have to be about the subject of my blog? Will it hurt to have content not related to the title and keywords of my blog? Any input would be greatly appreciated!

My first thought was “whose going to hurt whom?” Honestly, who are you hurting if you don’t blog right? You.

If you don’t care about monetization, getting found, establishing a reputation or expertise, and your blog is not your resume, then who cares? No one is hurt because your blog is all for you and no one else that influences your ability to pay your rent.

If your blog’s purpose is to make money and establish your professional online reputation, by not blogging with search term, keyword-rich content in a consistent form within your blog’s purpose and intent that puts the reader first, you are the only one hurting you.

There are two answers I can give to this person.
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Insult to Readers? Twitter Profile for Sale.

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As blogs and social network profiles continue to grow in value – and I’m talking cash/money – the chance that your favorite Web destination will change hands has grown dramatically.

Whether it’s a publicity stunt or not, Techcrunch is reporting that Rocketboom founder Andrew Baron has put his Twitter profile up for sale.

Here’s his explanation on parting with the 1,400 follower-account:

I really love my Twitter account but I feel like I haven’t been using it the way I want to. Quite honestly, I feel sorry for all of my followers because they wind up with my tweets in their timelines and I haven’t been able to utilize the medium the way I want to. I also participate in another Twitter account over on Rocketboom so I’m thinking I’ll post more over there and start up a new account to do what I want to do next.

It would be silly to just delete this account I have here, especially if there is someone out there that had like interests and had something to say or wanted to get involved in some relevant conversations. In terms of monetary value, I have no expectations or needs at all so I decided not to put a minimum bid on this. Whatever will be, will be.

As of this post, the eBay auction is fetching over $1k.

Personally, I find the whole thing insulting. I hate it enough when my favorite blogs change editorial hands. But to sell a profile or account, that people have chosen to follow, is just weak. I would immediately unsubscribe; and I have a hunch I’m not alone. Hence, making a potential buyer, pay the price.

Now do you feel when a blog/service that you follow changes hands?

The April Fools Blog Gag That Backfired

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Heard about this today. Did you know that Darren Rowse is bankrupt since the most he ever earned on ProBlogger was $1,000/month?

It’s not true, of course. It’s a pretty tacky April Fools gag, clumsily made since the post date isn’t even April 1st. Darren wasn’t happy, and I can imagine he got even more pissed when his Wikipedia entry got updated accordingly. That shows how unreliable Wikipedia can be, if anything. Come on, is There’s a Blog in my Soup reliable enough for such an edit? And who does that kind of edit to a person’s entry without looking up on facts?
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Business School for Bloggers: How to Make Money With Your Blog

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I am frequently asked about how to make money on the web, especially how to make money with your blog. I find a wide variety of answers around the web, some of them get rich quick schemes, PageRank games, and SEO illusions, but there is only one answer that I want to shout to the roofs, but few people listen.

Blogging as a business is business. It takes business training and skills to make money with your blog.

That’s it. That’s the secret. John Chow, Guy Kawawasaki, Darren Rowse, Seth Godin, these princes of blogging didn’t get rich with their blogs by just having blogs. They used their business sense and know how to make their blogs work for them. They understood that a blog is just another tool in the business arsenal, a business card and resume all wrapped up in one, offering a business a powerful communications tool. In order to make your blog work for you, you have to understand how business works.

To have a “successful” blog and to make your blog work for you, you have to have skills and training in advertising, marketing, economics, finance, writing ability and language skills, public relations, networking, everything any business needs. These are the skills you bring it to your blog to make it a success, earning the money you deserve.
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How Far Would You Go to Thank a Reader?

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Bloggers are grateful for every click, comment and e-mail. But how far would you go to thank loyal readers of your blog? Humor blogger Georgia Getz is making the rest of us look bad, driving more than 10,000 miles to meet the folks who leave comments on her blog, I Am Bossy.

She’s even ditching her husband and kid for the trip. (Now you have no excuse!)

The five-week trip (in a hybrid provided by Saturn) is designed to put faces to names and help further develop relationships that have formed online.

Currently underway, you can get in on the action. So far, over 260 bloggers across 207 cities have signed up to take part in the adventure. From offering Georgia a place to crash, to just stopping by to say ‘hi,’ if you believe strongly about the relationships forged between bloggers and readers (and other bloggers) then this is a road trip that will interest you.

Depending on how it goes, the next leg of the journey might go international.

Here’s the big question: Would you let one of your favorite blog writers crash on your couch?

Man, I dig the blog style of dudes like Michael Arrington and Darren Rowse, but for some reason, I feel like they’d keep me up all night, click-clacking obsessively on their keyboards. Plus, I know nothing about their hygiene, sleeping habits, etc. And from what I know about prolific writers…well, let’s just say, some folks are better knowing from afar. (I also only have one full bath).

I certainly can use a vacation from the New York scene. So, whadya say? What time should I be there?

Read more about Bossy’s Excellent Road Trip here.

What Gives You The Right To Tell Me?

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What gives you the right to tell me how to do something? Why should I trust what you have to say about blogging? About politics? About money? About making money with my blog? About fixing cars? About anything? What gives you the right?

As I prepare for the “Biz School of Blogging” program in May at SOBCon, the terms authority blog and authority blogger keeps popping up in the program discussions. Chris Garrett has even helped create the Authority Blogger blog.

The term, authority blogger, was coined a little over a year ago labeling a blogger and their blog as the “authority” on their blog subject, thus making the blogger an expert in their field. Blog branding is the marketing effort to turn your blog into an authority blog through visual and content connections, establishing proof over time of expertise.

Yet, every day I run across bloggers claiming expertise and spewing nonsense – and no one challenges them.

Should they? Should we?
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