Not about the hits.
October 11, 2002 2 | Comments (Closed)
Are things like trackback and pingback all about finding out and showing how many people hit your site? I don’t think so.
I really like things like Dive into Mark’s “Further Reading on Today’s Posts.”
I find these links often take me to a nice site I otherwise would not have seen, some information I didn’t get from the original post and lots of times a unique perspective on something that I might not have been able to get my mind around.
Zeldman has talked about this. He states rather nicely:
If the web is a hyperlinked information network, these reflective links are true to its spirit and in some cases may amplify comments on a given site by turning them into a network-wide conversation of sorts. Secondarily, reflective links also suggest that the site you are reading is worth your time: after all, other sites have commented, so the text must possess value.
That part I get, the rest - weeelllll - let’s just say I’m not a 100% sure what his final point is - maybe if he had something like “Further Reading” someone could better explain it to me. Smile.
I kid - I guess you could use something like this to guage a site’s readership, although I’d hesitate to think that it would be accurate. To me it’s like Mark is talking about - it’s about conversation and discussion. Not popularity.
Filed under: Web General
Comments
1. ryan said:
I agree. There are countless great sites that Ive found through comments and trackbacks that I probably wouldnt have been exposed to. | On the other hand, its always nice to check that “referring sites” page to see whos linking to you. | Regardless, popularity is fleeting. Technically the most “popular” sites are either porn, yahoo or amazon. Every new web user latches on to the big name sites and then gradually moves to ‘boutiqe’ sites like blogs, diaries, specialized-content, etc. | Today on Textism.com a reader complained that comment modules only promote the vanity of the posting user. I disagree. Sure it may cause their traffic to increase significantly, but if the content is worthless, will anyone continue to visit? I doubt it. | Frankly, I dont want a popular site. I wouldnt be able to afford the bandwith bill!
Posted on October 11, 2002 01:17 PM | #
2. hiku said:
No doubt. On the popularity thing - what’s wrong with feeling like people are interested in what you have to say anyway? You want to know people care….
Posted on October 11, 2002 01:33 PM | #
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