Updates: Welcome Steve Rubel and MSNBC readers. I’m glad this piece was linked to and you stopped by. If you like what you’re about to read, you may want to take a gander at the welcome post I gave to Slate Readers a bit ago. Again, thanks for stopping by and feel free to explore!
The quality of the Technorati results has diminished in my eyes. Call me a snob, I can deal. But 99% of MySpace blogs are not blogs. They lack decent quality. They lack focus and bloggers on MySpace make the ultimate mistake of calling blog entries “blogs”. They are not “blogs”, they are “posts” or “entries”. “Blogs” are the collection of entries or posts. They are weblogs. People don’t write journals. They write Journal entries. Likewise, captain’s don’t record logs…. They record log entries. So why do MySpacers think they are writing blogs? They are writing entries in their blogs, or writing entries for their blogs or even writing entries on their blogs, but they are not writing blogs.
And now Technorati is indexing these guys as if they have the same credence as, say, Boing Boing or Steve Rubel.
Ay carumba.
Update: Steve Rubel’s link to this post has had the result of bringing awareness to this issue. Technorati is now buzzing with the story:
- Hyku says: As Aaron points out it will add some clutter to the results from Technorati, but hasn’t there always been clutter? - Yes, but that doesn’t mean adding more irrelevance to search results makes Technorati any stronger for it.
- Duncan says: “>Duncan Riley says: My understanding is that MySpace blogs can’t be tracked, they have an internet version of what corporate bankers would know as a Chinese Wall. If you were right then I would adore you, but the reality is, that this is not the case.
- FeedScott says: We all just got alot younger by average.
Stumble it!
About the Author: Aaron Brazell is the lead editor of Technosailor.com and a social media expert. His passion is to see companies and individuals use the internet and web technologies wisely and effectively to promote their brands and companies. He served as Director of Technology at b5media from 2005-2008 and is currently an independent consultant.
are you sure about that?
Am I sure about what??
Meh, no big deal in my mind.
Put it this way: my 16 year old girl cousin would talk about the same things on her MySpace blog if I set her up with WordPress on her own domain. The WP install would still get indexed by Technorati so I don’t see the big problem with MySpace being indexed as well.
Now a blog’s content will be more important than its Technorati ranking ;)
Vinnie–
Platforms do not have equal rights under the law, so to speak. That is why sites are sandboxed by Google for a period of time.
So why does Technorati include MySpace blogs in its search results listed alongside established and respected blogs like Boing Boing, Michelle Malkin and Seth Godin?
You’re right that platform does not dictate content exclusively but I think there is something to be said for prospects of quality content. Someone who has a WordPress blog is far more likely to produce decent non-sandbox type content than a MySpace blog…
Technorati Adds MySpace Blogs…
Aaron Brazell says Technorati is now indexing MySpace blogs. Judging from this graph (below), I’d say he sure is right. A spike like that doesn’t occur out of nowhere. Technorati Tags: Technorati…
[...] Get the scoop at Technosailor. [...]
[...] You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your ownsite. [...]
[...] So Technorati is indexing MySpace blogs. That’s probably bad news, and will make Technorati’s signal to noise ratio substantially worse. A search for LOL should help you find them. [...]
The internet is not for the elite!
Sorry Paul but reality flies in the face of your assertation. For instance, Google Pagerank does give people more elitism than others. In fact, the entire concept of SERPs is in fact elitist. There is no reason why Technorati or any other indexing service should treat everybody equally. It’s certainly not fair to people who work hard to put their blogs into elite company.
[...] The subject today is elitism and its place in blogging. You see, it all began over on my blog with an entry observing that Technorati had begun indexing MySpace blogs. [...]
How to Claim Your MySpace Blog on Technorati…
Technorati is now tracking MySpace blogs, which means MySpace users can now claim their blogs on Technorati. MySpace users now have a chance to become as addicted to Technorati as they are to MySpace!…
[...] Aaron of technosailor.com has pointed out that Technorati has been slowly indexing MySpace blogs. Steve Rubel shows a graph to support this. [...]
[...] I also read that Technorati had started to index Myspace blogs. This really sucks primetime. I definitely won’t go calling the place where people post in Myspace as “Blogs”. They don’t deserve that tag. I use Technorati regularly for finding people who blog about the same topic and also about some hot news in the blogosphere but I agree 100% with Aaron that the quality of links you find in Technorati is going to decrease like hell and more people will be forced to use Authority, the result - Good un-popular blogs cannot be found. An example, If I’m searching on Google Romance, here’s what I’m gonna find “That fukcing googlee romanced us with the shiiit that the world sucks!!!!!!! Gooogle rullezzz.. Haha, I love and marry. Boo maa!! [Continue with the crap].” [...]
Hey Aaron,
Thanks for the visit, this was one of the most thought-provoking posts I’ve read in awhile. Better minds than me have weighed in on this great conversation that you created…
But, in response to your question, “Do you want your blog to do poorly,” I wanted to say–of course not!
But I do want MySpace users who love Neil Diamond, Paul Auster, or my other favorite artists to read my site! Putting them in the Technorati mix makes it easier for me to find them and for them to find me. Already, you can choose the “most authority” button on Technorati if you want to create a more elitist list of search results.
I don’t use that option. I want my blog to be read by many different kinds of people, not just people who read Steve Rubel.
Cheers, Jason Boog
[...] 1. Technorati Indexing MySpace Blogs, Aaron Brazell is worried the blogosphere is getting too crowded and that quality is suffering. I think maybe he worries too much. [...]
The Revolution will now be lobotomized…
I had dimly noted that the blog aggregator technorati had begun indexing the internet’s deepest pit of self-indulgence, aka Myspace. In the coverage I’ve seen out on the blogosphere, the general consensus is that this is another Good Thing, but,……
[...] However, unlike Technorati, it would appear that MySpace blogs are not being indexed. [...]
Yep… I guess you are right.. It is high time they updated the blog program.. Besides, the blog being available only o members has its limitation, while submitting to sites like Technorati.. Anyway, there are some good ones out there.. it is like a dediated club.. somebody pens a blog and by the end of the day, he has his usual ons of comment feedback.. Now this for a regular blog, will take sometime to build up a regular comment database.
[...] More Content. Content is always good. Sometimes it’s not so beneficial for search engines or Technorati as relevant content is not always what content is. Content just is, whether relevant or not. What MySpace blogs have done is provide an avenue for people to produce. Production is good and quality production is something that is learned by participating in things like myspace blogs. [...]
[...] I couldn’t agree more. Aaron Brazell a.k.a. The Technosalor also wrote yesterday that he thinks Technorati, the authority on what’s going on in the world of weblogs, is now tracking myspace blogs. [...]
[...] was an uncrackable entity. They received untold benefits when Technorati began indexing MySpace blogs. They maintained a loyal following of kids who literally lived on MySpace. Anyone could join [...]
MySpace does indeed suck but about your pet peeve on MySpace? This screenshot pretty much says it all really:
Goddamn refusal of img HTML. Here, have this instead:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2215/2312108705_8164888725.jpg