Robert Scoble writes:
One trend that bloggers don’t want to talk about? A number of my blogging friends have seen their traffic go down lately. They assume that their readers are off in social networks. I think they are absolutely right.
Hugh McLeod responds:
The time of the A-List is dead. Thank Christ. Not a moment too soon.
Value will always be key. And I think you’ll find that the migration of pure social chatter off of blogs and onto social networking applications is a good thing for the rest of us who are looking to build businesses powered in whole or in part by blogs.
I think this is a joke – no, not the funny kind, but the ridiculous kind.
For as long as I’ve been reading ‘about blogging’, we’ve had this A-list debate. It’s similar to high-school social hierarchy, where the popular boys and girls get all the attention and there are always a few rebels ready to call their time up.
Let’s face it, there will ALWAYS be an A-list. The names will change, some old ones will fade and new ones will take their place, but in essence, the psychology of the A-list will always be there.
The people who denounce the A-list and push value blogging are right by their accounts, but in the process they too are turning into the A-list by virtue of their increasing audience.
People like Michael Arrington, Darren Rowse, Brian Clark, Hugh McLeod, Aaron Wall and Rand Fishkin ARE part of the A-list – they are, whether they like it or admit it or not, celebrities whose popularity extends beyond their own niche.
I’ve seen Rand Fishkin go from a relatively unknown SEO geek to one of the leading SEO bloggers online, in the space of the last 2-3 years. He made it to the A-list by providing value, and full props to him.
Don’t tell me that the A-list is dead simply because the rules of the game have changed. By nature the A-list will adapt and thrive in the new conditions. There will always be rock stars and celebrities, whether it’s social media, mainstream media or ‘value blogging’.
So please, the A-list is NOT dead. Blogging – well that’s a different story 🙂
4 thoughts on “The A-List is alive and kicking”
I think Scoble is right–they’re off hanging out on social networks rather than hanging around the blogs. But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Raj is right, it might be easier to get in the top 100 now.
With Technorati’s use of momentum metrics, it is now relatively easier to get into the Top 100. The active B-list can get into the A-list now, and are doing so.
Del.icio.us links are nice because they really are more like bookmarks. They have a longer term value. Digg’s are wham bam thank you ma’am – most of the time anyway. But i do occasionally get Digg visits from old articles.
like digg, when an item hits the delicious popular page it can drive you plenty of traffic and knock-on links, not to mention new readers.
agreed with you on the need to understand how something works as I think most of us aren’t early adopters, we’re more liable to stick to what we know best.
Not always the best approach though.
this introduces a fundamental question that I’ve been struggling with for some time: how does a problogger choose which social nets to enter and become an active member of and how does one use a social net effectively. Even businesses have to address these questions. What’s worth your time and what’s not? What’s going to be a fad, and what’s going to be around 6 months from now?
For example, everyone tells me I really should become more active with in delicious. But I don’t know how to use it effectively for SEO and I’ve never seen strong results from my efforts. With all new technology, unless I clearly understand how I can benefit from using it, I’m not inclined to adopt it (some people are quite the opposite).
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