Besides sucking diesel fumes, the other thing that made yesterday a stinky day was logging in and finding that The Squiggler had suddenly been invalidated and dropped in ranking from Adorable Rodent which was climbing to near the top back to just one rank above the bottom of the barrell to some kind of microbe. Normally this kind of thing doesn't bother me as I tend to dismiss artificial rankings and ratings of any kind. But, I just don't understand what TTLB is doing with these new algorithms or how they are working now or why The Squiggler would get so decimated in the system. I have never taken part in the Track Back Parties, which is what I thought the new system was compensating for, so we should not have lost anything there. What is particularly confusing is that now The Squiggler, a blog that has been around a year and has hundreds of posts and many hundreds of links over that year's time is ranked exactly the same as our newest entry into the blogoshpere, Gen-Data Blog, which is only a month old. Gen-Data Blog has only a very few posts and virtually no links. How can the two possibly be rated equal? It doesn't make sense, it doesn't track.
I also find fault with the whole system being based on linking. It seems that using linking as the criteria gives lots of weight to the blog that just indexes lots of other blog's posts and the blog that is nearly all original writing gets left behind. Does this make sense to you any more than it does to me? It seems to reward those most skilled at cutting and pasting, where is merit reflected? Also, it seems that credit can only be gained if one links to another blog, particularly one of the top ranked blogs. Links to other types of material found on the web, i.e., news sources or web pages of the educational variety, have no validity. The Squiggler has always tried to find the most original source to link to rather than link back to a blog that is just parroting another blog who may or may not have linked to an original source. It also seems to reward those who manage to get a flame war started. I just don't get it.
Anyway, my take is that the new system sucks ... not only because it invalidates an entire year of work, but because it seems to be heavily biased toward the link whores of the blogosphere at the expense of the creative. The Squiggler isn't and was never meant to be some kind of leader in the blogosphere. I started this blog originally to work through my own grief after my Mother's death. It has evolved and become more political, but then politics was my business and don't we all tend to go with what we know best? What the Squiggler knows best is military issues from the spouse perspective and politics, and yes, genealogy, which we share over at Gen-Data Blog. I don't want to get on the TV news shows, although I find it exciting to see bloggers get that recognition. I'm far too shy to aspire to such a public role and I'm more than satisfied to live vicariously through the recognition of those who enjoy the public forums. I don't want to start flame wars through rude or foul behavior that draws in the negative. I'm not particularly witty either. When I link it is usually because I personally find the article informative or worth being seen by more eyes in a strictly subjective decision.
I do think that my strongest talent hasn't had a chance to shine simply because The Squiggler doesn't have the readership or generate a lot of comments. I am far better at seeing through the b.s. and would have a better showcase for whatever talent I have in a give and take or by showcasing a developed expertise. Perhaps that is why I am partial to blogs like Just One Minute by Tom McGuire, where he parses every little nuance of a single issue like Plamegate. But our very favorite blog of all is Barking Moonbat Early Warning System. The Skipper, in our opinion, is a truly talented and witty man who pulls no punches. He deserves to be at the top of the rankings. A close second would be IMAO because it appeals to my rather unconventional sense of humor, although I sometimes think the readership based on the comments is rather juvenile in their thinking and positions. But then I am fully aware as a level-headed person with no personal ambition that the chances of anyone caring what I think are slim to none.
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