All this talk of page rank seems to be the best or worst thing going on in the blogosphere, aside from the MS -> Facebook monies changing hands. I am not sure which side of that coin I fall on (for today at least). Sometimes the idea of page rank and moving up in results because of votes/page views/linked results claimed by spiders seems a good idea. Other times not so much.

Sure if you have lots of links and scrapable content page rank is good. However outside of that it is considerably less valuable.

The algorithm used by Google for page rank computes weightings for links. But is the rumor of a joke better for bloggers than page rank itself? It seems to me that for things on the Internet, the hype tied to the possibility of changes in technology get bloggers excited.

I am not sure what to make of the discussion of Page Rank... truth or rumor. I think the idea of ranking pages based on weighted scale is a great idea, keeping with the thought that one should not need to pay for a link to appear at the top of the list... but still could if they so desired.

This could be the greatest thing for a blogger or writer since the Internet itself. Allowing the number of visits to affect how and where your contents appears on Google seems to even the playing field. Sure you have to create good to great content for Page Rank to make even the slightest difference, but to me it seems to hold a great promise for bloggers...

and in many respects the Internet itself.

Blogging is old and new to me. It is old because someday I hope to have ideas just flying from my head to paper and eventually to my blog (or a blog). It is new because I have noticed that it changes almost every day. New software comes out, new technology is made available and more resources than ever are around to get someone started.

For me it has always been interesting... one week the list of items worth commenting on is endless and there are more than an average number of posts, and the following week there are no posts other than a few concerning an activity that kept me busy for a while.

Admittedly, the traffic I generate on the web, here at performancing and at my own blog is a small amount right now, but hopefully spending time on the web reading blogs and getting to know other bloggers will increase my knowledge and indirectly my traffic.

I was unsure when I began this post what the idea behind it should be. Though I figured with enough typing and backspace action something would fall out that might be worthwhile to someone else. I think I have got it...

Being unrestricted in your writing can be both a blessing and a curse. Sure there are guidelines here and someone will look over this piece to ensure I am close to those, but really it is rather unrestricted. Surely any blog run by the author, such as a personal blog, has much more freedom than even keeping a blog here. But these freedoms and the readers that come with them are precious and few and should not be taken lightly.

Let me explain.

I have a contributors gig for a technology website called TechRepublic, there we create content to help IT professionals better do their job using tools, articles, and other resources. When I write any content there are droves of editors working to ensure that all of the pieces are coherent and fit within the site's general context. They also provide feedback to guide me along in the process.

My personal blog, which is not kept as up to date as it should be, has more editorial freedom and no rules as to what can be published. If I want to post an article to my blog that says the distance between point A and point B is through points C, D, and Q; I am free to do so and not required to explain my choices.

Neither of these situations are bad, but editorial feedback, whether given by a paid editor or by other readers, can be the best thing to happen to a writer or blogger. Sure not everything you post is the greatest thing ever, but if it were would you learn from it?

Working with TechRepublic has made me a better blogger, but has also made me very cautious and gunshy when posting because I want to pick something really worthy and stick with it to give my readers, few though they may be, something good to spend time reading. Hopefully some reader feedback and experiences blogged about here will do the same for both my blogging path and for the content I create for any other websites.

I enjoy writing and hope to find something that makes blogging even better. I also hope to blog here weekly and gain as much new knowledge and feedback as I can. I am certainly happy to be here and glad to be a part of the Performancing community.