Feb

15

Are Techmeme Discussion Links Worth Reading?

February 15, 2008 |

Tech for novices looked at the reactions to the news about Google’s video ads on Techmeme yesterday and pretty much came to the conclusion that most of the blogs listed under the discussion links on Techmeme weren’t worth reading:

But what is the need for top guys to regurgitate the same news ? Guess its the PR (?) effect which RWW describes.

[quotes from Mashable, paidcontent and Search Engine Journal all writing up the news without adding much value]

Now that is all fine. Happens all the time. But should Techmeme discussion links have absolutely nothing of value to add ? Have a look below -

http://www.techmeme.com/

We just saw three links as example which proves the above point. Sure other links may be just reprinting the same NYT article in bits & pieces.

For once, I have to come to the rescue of my fellow bloggers at these three publications. In my view, part of the job of these bigger blogs is to relay the news to their readers. Not everybody who reads Mashable also reads Techmeme.

The bigger tech blogs, with their multiple writers and many, many thousands of readers are, in many respects, more like newspapers than traditional blogs and part of their mission is simply to pass the news on to their readers.

But TechForNovices has a point that is worth keeping in mind, especially for us B-listers: Just repeating the news isn’t what blogging is about. Sure - if you just want to tell your friends what the news is, that’s fine, but you could just send them a link, too. The point of the discussion links is to add to the discussion.

Readers quickly figure out what blogs are worth going to and which ones are a waste of time. The blogs that will eventually rise to the top are those that add to the discussion, not just copy press releases.

p.s. I can’t figure out if Tech for Novices is a real blog or just a scraper…


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3 Comments so far

  1. Steven Hodson on February 15, 2008 11:51 pm

    haven’t we been saying that for a while now?

    Mind if I excessively quote your post and pas it on ?? :)

  2. Frederic on February 16, 2008 12:07 am

    Only if you add commentary of course :)

    But yeah - it’s not new - but it is worth repeating, I think.

  3. Internet Share information » Blog Archive » The StatBot Debuts Series Analyzing Techmeme Sources on May 27, 2008 8:16 pm

    […] To date, Techmeme has been something of a black box. Leading bloggers love seeing the regularity of their posts being included. Meanwhile, less visible posters see complaining about Techmeme as something as a rite of passage. Some even claim impropriety and bias, while others still complain the site can be flooded with me-too news and copycats. […]

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