The Long Tail of Linking

Back when the Internet and subsequently the blogosphere was in its infancy, there were two concepts that seemed to win the day: link exchanges and blogrolls. Each provided a way of gaining more traffic and visibility. As each matured, however, these models went from being mutually beneficial to annoying. High-volume traffic websites and "A-list" bloggers became constantly bombarded with requests for recognition and linkage. Eventually, many of them simply stopped their involvement in these exchanges. Blogrolls, for example, are not nearly as popular as they were even a year ago. One of the reasons for that, was that the link - as a form of currency - could exist in other forms besides a comfy spot in the sidebar. Bloggers in particular could give props through trackbacks, hat tips, quotes, and even comments to those they held in regard. The problem, however, is that in many ways when it comes to linking, Del.icio.us | Digg | Yahoo! My Web | Furl Bookmark Murdok: TECHNOSIGHT blog.