Written on May 13th, 2005 at 09:05 am by David Shawver
Pro-Podcasters
BitPass have announced a service for helping PodCasters charge for their work via a subscription - enabling a new wave of professional podcasters to hit the airwaves:
‘BitPass Unplugged is a patent-pending, powerful new service that will allow podcasters ranging from hobbyists to mainstream media organizations to introduce à-la-carte and subscription pricing to podcasts. The service leverages the loyalty of a growing number of listeners who prefer to download music, audio blogs, radio shows and other content and have it transferred automatically to portable media devices for listening at the user’s convenience.’
Do you think people will be willing to pay to listen to a podcast? I seem to remember a lot of talk about subscription based blogging a year or two back and the general consensus being that people wouldn’t be willing to pay to read a blog as there were so many other options out there to read.
What do you think?
found via Blog Herald
Written on May 13th, 2005 at 07:05 am by David Shawver
What’s Right with Blogging?
My post last week on What’s Wrong with Blogging has proved to be the hottest post on enternetusers this week. 45 people have left comments and trackbacks (so far) so its obviously hit a nerve. The discussion is ‘negative’ in nature as I’d asked for (although one or two couldn’t resist being positive) and I think its one of the more worthwhile discussions to have taken place on this blog this year.
I hope its stimulated some thinking that will help bloggers to improve their craft and perhaps given some blog tool developers some ideas about what people are looking for.
In the interest of balance and optimism its time for a discussion on ‘What’s Right with Blogging?’ I’d like to open up this post to all readers to share what they love about blogging. What makes it something that you invest time into? What distinguishes it positively from other forms of websites? What about it makes you purrrrrrr?
No negative comments will be tolerated (leave them on this one) - this should be a real blogging love fest!
Written on May 13th, 2005 at 12:05 am by David Shawver
Examining the 9rules Network
Scrivs has been writing some interesting information about the 9 Rules network and how it all operates. People want to know the ‘catch’ and Paul is doing his best to show that there is no catch.
There are not rules about having ads on your site, no rules about how many post you have to write, no rules that say the ownership of the content is anyone’s but the blogger. Interesting.
The main requirement is that you link back to the 9 Rules main page - which in turn links back to you.
Ok - so what IS the catch? Is there one? Where is this headed? What is the point?
I’m sure Paul will post more on this as it goes but here are a few things that come to mind as I ponder the 9 Rules Network.
How do the 9 Rules Network Owners gain?
Obviously there would be little point in starting a network if there wasn’t anything to gain from it - this is just human nature and good business sense. I don’t have an issue with people gaining things so lets not knock Paul and his gang for wanting to profit from this. But what is in it for them? Here are a few suggestions:
• Adsense revenue - those blogs that do run ads on them allow the 9Rules Network to place their ads with their publisher code on the blog. They collect all of this money (presumably tracking each blog’s earnings via channels) and then send this money to bloggers after taking their cut. Whilst I know the split it hasn’t been made public yet (it is weighted so that the author gets most of it) - I think Paul will reveal this shortly. Each blog currently in the network wouldn’t be earning much - but if they add 100 or so blogs over the next month or two this sort of revenue adds up (I wouldn’t mind 100 blogs paying me $1-$5 per day).
• Page Rank - each page of every blog that joins links back to a central 9Rules page. This is virtually the only requirement of joining the network and is probably as important for the 9 Rules team as the potential Adsense revenue. Such a strategy could mean that the 9Rules domain name rises considerably over the coming months as potentially hundreds of blogs, all hosted on different servers in different parts of the world add their Google juice to the 9Rules domain. One potential way of capitalizing on this down the track would be to start some commercial blogs on the 9Rules domain that build on the Page Rank that is built with the incoming links. I wouldn’t be surprised if we started seeing a few 9Rules Blogs added to the mix at some point.
• Influence/Profile - the 9Rules Network become more powerful in their influence as each new blog is added to the network. If they play their cards right and work for the good of their bloggers then the flow on impact as bloggers return favors could be massive. Imagine the buzz that 100 bloggers could generate for a new project if Paul were to ask them to link to it. Whilst I doubt Paul would ever require network bloggers to participate in linking to new projects I bet many would as he goes out of his way to help them. Of course this is a potential danger - if 9Rules don’t maintain good relationships with their bloggers, if they instead become disillusioned, angry, hurt or their expectations are not met the fallout could be quite spectacular to watch.
How do participating Bloggers gain?
It’s not all about what the network gets. Its also about the bloggers involved with it. How do they benefit?
• Traffic - obviously there will be some flow on traffic from the main page. One of the things I’ve noticed about being a part of the Breaking News Blog collective is that there is some flow of traffic both between blogs and especially through the central front page. The 9Rules page randomly features blogs from within the network and their last posts.
• Prestige - as the 9Rules network grows in its prominence and popularity it will have flow on effects to blogs involved. The logo and brand will bring status (if they keep the quality up) that should benefit blogs involved.
• Relationships - the thing that tempts me most about being involved with 9Rules is the relationships with other bloggers. Being a blogger can be a little isolating at times but working together on a common task is energizing. If the 9Rules people pay their cards right they should get their bloggers linked up (not just with hyper links - but relationally) to work together, promote each other, swap ideas and working for the common good.
• Advice - the 9Rules people have some real expertise in making quality blogs. They know about design, income streams, writing, marketing and much more. Hopefully they’ll be able to make membership of the network a learning experience where bloggers increase their quality of output and produce better and better blogs. Of course it is in their best interests to help bloggers improve because the flow on effects are obvious.
I am sure there are more benefits (and costs) of being involved in 9Rules - but I’ll leave it at these for now. What are your opinions on 9Rules? What do you like? What worries you? How would you improve or change it? Is it a win win relationship between bloggers and the network or a one sided deal in your opinion?
Written on May 12th, 2005 at 10:05 pm by David Shawver
Fixing Comment Spam with Stars
Jason Calacanis posted a couple of days ago on Weblogs Inc’s new Comment Spam Fix - The Star System - which allows bloggers to award commenters ’stars’ for productive comments. They have the new system up and working at TV Squad and it seems to be being received pretty well.
I’ve been reflecting on this new system for a couple of days and watching to see how it works. Here are some initial thoughts:
- It won’t kill automated comment spam - this is a system that is not designed to stop the mass automated spam that many bloggers get. As Jason says in his post - its aimed more at individuals leaving ‘genuine’ comments that link to questionable sites or that are commenters having conversations with themselves in order to promote a product. Weblogs Inc already has a system in place to combat the mass automated spammers so that wasn’t the purpose of this system.
- It will encourage comments and blog stickiness - TV Squad is offering $100 for the highest rated commenter in May ($50 for second place). I’ll bet any money on the fact that they’ll have more comments this month than normal. It’s not just about the prize though - the incentive to get ’stars’ is also about getting listed on the ‘top contributers’ list which is partly about status but also if you’ve got a website gets your site listed which will bring in some traffic and increase your page rank. Increase comments has a flow on effect to the rest of the site - it can help build community, will increase repeat readers to the site (increasing impressions and earnings) and increases the amount of content on each page which might help with their SEO.
- Could it increase spam? - comment spam is basically about getting as many of your links on as many other sites as possible to build page rank. Comments are an easy target for this. Whilst I look at what Weblogs Inc are doing and think ‘brilliant’ part of me is left wondering if they might have just given spammers even more incentive to leave spam comments. Is offering $100 and a link on every page on the blog like dangling a carrot in front of a rabbit? Whilst they will no doubt increase their genuine comments, I wonder if this might also increase the amount of comments that they are deleting every month (which sort of defeats the purpose of the system).
- Stanton Termite Control
I think the system is great - it could be improved by giving other readers the ability to award stars (thus lightening the load of authors on the admin) - but overall I think its very innovative. I’m not completely convinced it will wipe out comment spam on their blogs, in fact it could increase the admin of comments - however the benefits will be that it makes their blogs more sticky - something most bloggers would love to do.
Update: pc4media has a review of Weblogs inc’s new comment system also.
Written on May 12th, 2005 at 10:05 pm by David Shawver
Lastminute.com sells for 1 billion dollars
You gotta love stories of online success like this one:
‘Lastminute.com, the British online discount travel agency and icon of the former Internet boom, has agreed to be bought by US travel group Sabre Holdings in a cash deal worth 577 million pounds (843 million euros, 1.075 billion dollars)….’
Read more at Lastminute.com books takeover by US travel group Sabre
Written on May 12th, 2005 at 05:05 pm by David Shawver
Google Content Blocker
enternetuserss everywhere will love Google’s latest feature - the Google Content Blocker that removes annoying content from pages so that readers just see ads. I like this section especially:
What can I do once the content is removed?
Click on the ads: Just click ‘em (you don’t even have to read ‘em). Every time you click an ad, money changes hands. As an option, you can install the free Google Content Blocker “ka-ching!” audio support file.
Look at the ads: You probably already know that ads are interesting, entertaining, and informative. So look at them. You may not even realize it, but just looking at an ad will help our advertisers because eventually you’re going to click on that sucker.
Click on the ads: Use your mouse. Move the mouse pointer over an ad, then click the mouse button.
Tell your friends about the ads: Tell them how cute and funny the ads are, and tell them how to find them. Also tell them to click on the ads.
Click on the ads: If you see an ad, click it. It’s as easy as that.
Very amusing.
Written on May 12th, 2005 at 01:05 pm by David Shawver
Blogtalk Downunder Draws Near
Blogtalk Downunder is getting close now - and some of the papers being presented are truly mouth watering stuff.
Papers released so far include:
- Chris Chesher - Paper - Blogs and the crisis of authorship
- ZedTycho.com: Kevin Leversee, Barry Steele, Scott Farrell & Mark Neely - Panel - Desire Lines, Memes & the Blogosphere
- Trevor Cook - Paper - Up against reality: Blogging and the cost of content
- Senator Andrew Bartlett - Presentation - Blogs and Politics in Australia and globally
- Zenon Chaczko, Venkatesh Mahadevan & Emil Wajs-Chaczko - Paper - Blogging as an Effective Tool in Teaching and Learning Software Systems Development
- Robert Ackland - Paper - Mapping the U.S. Political Blogosphere: Are Conservative Bloggers More Prominent?
- Glen Fuller - Paper - The eventual potential of Blogs
- James Farmer - Paper - Centred Communication: Weblogs and aggregation in the organisation
- Gavin Sade - Paper - Weblogs as Open Constructive Learning Environments
- Carol Cooper & Lyn Boddington - Paper - Assessment by blog: Ethical case studies assessment for an undergraduate business management class
- TAN Yuh-Huann, TEO Eng-Hui, AW Wai-Lin Alice, LIM Wei-Ying - Paper - Portfolio Building in Chinese Language Learning Using Blogs
Overseas Speakers coming include:
The only downer of Blogtalk Downunder is some criticism that they seem to attracted about the cost of the event. It is costing $175 ($AU) which some believe is too high. James has responded here with how they worked out the pricing and some of the reasons its not cheaper. I personally think that $175 is a very reasonable price for a conference of this standard of venue, speakers, food etc.
Having said this - most Ausse bloggers are not blogging on a professional level and don’t have the backing of a business, university or other organization to bankroll their trip to Sydney. Perhaps this is where some of the criticism comes from. It is something of a catch 22.
I also have a little niggling feeling that perhaps Blogtalk is pitching itself at a higher (more intellectual or academic) level than where the Average Aussie Blogger is at. In reading the papers released so far I’m very impressed by the intelligent, well thought out presentations - but am left wondering how accessible they are for most bloggers in Australia. Whilst pitching at this level will lead to some wonderful sessions - it could also be narrowing the potential attendance.
I don’t have any real answers - just tossing thoughts around in the hope that something is productive.
I’ve personally decided that I can’t make it to Sydney for Blogtalk - I’d love to go but partly due to the finances and partly because we’ve got so much going on at the moment it doesn’t look feasible. I’ll be following on via the blogs of those attending however and no doubt will be posting plenty of ‘wish I was there’ posts that week.
Written on May 12th, 2005 at 11:05 am by David Shawver
Google considers changes to Blogger
It seems that Google is considering integrating its Blog application - Blogger - with its email application - GMail if recent comments by Google’s Biz Stone are anything to go by. He also says that there is the possibility of an ‘enterprise Blogger version’ as well as new features like image hosting and private groups which would allow limiting of access to blogs to selected people.
Get more details on these developments at Google ponders Blogger, Gmail integration
Written on May 12th, 2005 at 09:05 am by David Shawver
Blog Design Layouts
Rachel at Designer Blogs has a cool post with 7 different blog layouts used by top bloggers - classified (with pictures) into navigation, sidebar, design and content.
She’s even got pretty pictures!
Written on May 11th, 2005 at 07:05 pm by David Shawver
Adsense Earnings Per Click Changes
There seems to be an increase in the frequency of postings in Adsense forums from publishers noting that their earnings have slipped in the past few days. Of particular note is that a number of publishers are reporting drops in their ‘per click’ earnings (to get this figure divide your total earnings for a day by the amount of clicks for that day).
This is a trend I’ve noticed since Thursday 5 May in my own statistics. I’ve not been able to find any explanation for it as there have not been any abnormal traffic rises or falls on any of my blogs.
I can’t see many good explanations of this decrease in EPC but wonder if maybe Adsense has updated its Smart Pricing algorithm. This might account for some of those in the discussion forums reporting increases in epc at the same time.
Check out the discussion on this at:
Further declines in earnings
Recent severe drop in Adsense revenue
Amount Paid Per Click - Continues to Decline (not as good as the others)
Got any theories to share? Noticed any changes to your EPC?
Update: it is interesting to watch the theories fly around on this one. I’ve seen everything mentioned - from Google increasing their cut of earnings, to it being linked to the new features available to Adwords advertisers, to some large advertisers pulling out of Adsense, to it just being a new way of reporting statistics, to it being an update in their Smart Pricing algorithm to it being linked to an increased number of UFO sightings…..hmmmm, You got to love Adsense publishers paranoia!
Update II: Jen has started a Who is seeing a HIGHER EPC these days? thread at Webmaster World. It seems like a few noticed a similar increase at the same time that others noticed the decrease - which to me looks a little like an update in the algorithm.
Updated III - looking at my own stats it seems that things have changed back again. The decrease in EPC that I’d noticed since 5 May today increased back to a ‘normal’ level. Others in forums have noticed this also.
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