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Do You Actually Read What You Sphinn?
Went Hot: November 3, 2007 - 12:37 pm
Posted By: cmiddlebrook 245 days ago
Topic Type: Discussion
Category: Sphinn Zone
With the clock ticking I found myself sphinning the article BEFORE having read it because I just liked the title, or liked the site it came from. Sometimes just because I liked the submitter. Oh my gosh! Am I the only one that does this?
Today is Saturday, I'm feeling chilled, not posting on my blog today so I'm taking my time and I'm actually READING the posts I sphinn... but it makes me wonder if other people do the same.
And then there's this one - do you ever sphinn without even clicking through to the article? I've done that a few times too *blush*
Okay confession over, back to sphinning :-)
32 Comments
Comments
I read the posts I Sphinn, although admittedly, I may not get through the entire article. It's usually pretty obvious in the first couple of paragraphs or not whether the article is providing great info to people -- or not.
I hope so. This isn't Digg after all.
If you check out this page (http://sphinn.com/live.php), it's easy to see who does and doesn't read the articles first. You'll notice a pattern of a large number of sphinns with only seconds between sphinns. I've been tracking this for some time just out of interest.
There are times when I will like the title, description, trust the submitter, so I will Sphinn, click through and bookmarket the piece, to come back later to read.
Does anyone actually read anything online anymore? I probably read one or two articles a day, the rest I scan or spead read, sucking up the important bits I need.
When you read a lot of the same stuff it's very easy to note patterns of style and quickly asses what use the article actually is.
However, I sphinn some articles I don't even look at as I trust the sphinner, I trust the source, I think the topic is important.
I also use Sphinn as a bookmarker, for me to save stuff to read later, if I need to find it I know where it is. True, the methodology is flawed to someone wanting a pure X Factor type contest where you only vote on what you think it's best. But I am not so sure dictats can be handed out saying you must use Sphinn this way else we drop hooded men with guns to break down your door.
Social sites that work allow organic movement of how the site works. The more flexible a site, the more it can be used in a way that is useful to its members.
I may not use Sphinn in a way another person likes, but each member has to use it to suit their style. Hopefully the site provides something of use to a wide number of people and it becomes succesful.
The worst thing I can see happening are changes that force people to use the site in a certain way, like funneling a raging river into the direction you want it to go in. Those who are aware of human actions to control rivers like the Mississippi know this to be insanely difficult.
What is more sensible is to "encourage" the site to grow in ways that make it useful to the Max amount of people.
Yeah I know I have gone off topic, but by raising issues of how people vote raises the issue of how people use the site and I bet everyone uses it in a different way and has a different reason for being here.
As long as it is a place where you can find useful, interesting, focussed content the site will succeed, the sifting and sorting of the content should not only help in that process but provide incentive to encourage the process of sorting and sifting.
My favourite quote is that, "Rules are for the guidance of the wise and for the keeping of fools".
I read what I sphinn. JeffQuipp - if you're tracking me, I sometimes read articles, when...uh... let's just say spending time on a social media site might be frowned upon... and then I sphinn 'em later.
Also, Jeff, that link didn't work for me.
I do a weekly news post (on my blog), so I am always reading as much as I can to find the good stories. Sometimes I will SPhinn something because I had already read the article (via feed reader), but that's about it. I don't care for the game... I don't Sphinn because of who posted it nor because it had a catchy title..... grumble..mumble....
Of course I sometimes sphinn without clicking through to the story. Most of what's on Sphinn, I've already read through my feed readers so there's no point clicking through again. I don't think Sphinn Live is a good way to really detect who reads or doesn't read anything.
I usually sphinn discussions even if I don't comment because I do think its important for people to talk about that specific issue.
Like the old Digg, I have the habit of sphinning interesting stories and then opening all of them in new tabs. After that, I close Sphinn completely, go to the stories and then read them.
The good thing about Sphinn is that if you feel that you don't think the story is worthy, you can always unsphinn it. I have actually done this once before, two hours after I sphunn + read the story.
Same here. Very often, I've already read the story via my feedreader, so I don't need to click through. I can just sphinn it if I liked it.
LocalHound ... no worries, not tracking anyone in particular, I just like to look for patterns that help me understand everything better. Sometimes I'll vote for a number in a short period too ... if I know and trust the sphinner, or find the title particularly compelling. Same as with DoshDosh, theGypsy, DazzlinDonna ... I read many in my feedreader first.
If the link is not working, click on "Sphinn Live" in the green bar at the top of this page.
LocalHound ... have an addendum. Some would argue those displaying such patterns make good 'friend' candidates :)
Im a guilty of sphinning without actually reading the source but the majority of times I do actually read before sphinning.
TBH I prefer it if there is some discussion going on via the comments - this gives me a good indicator if the blog post is actually worth visiting.
I'm liking these discussion sphinns more and more.
I always read the full article before Sphinning. Reading in my feed counts. But since I find loads of articles not in my feed, that means visiting the blog and reading it.
As a result, I don't Sphinn more than 10 articles a day.
@jeffquipp - that is a good example of assuming what you observe equates to a particular behavior where that assumption may be inaccurate. Here are three potential reasons for what you report seeing:
1. Your assumption that they Sphunn without reading
2. That they read it previously in their RSS feeds (or elsewhere they frequent like SU, Digg, etc. with many users in common) and then Sphinn them sequentially when they recognize them at Sphinn.
3. Some open multiple tabs/windows, read them all sequentially, and then Spinn those they can recommend from the main page to save time. The slowness of the system here and elsewhere encourages this behavior.
Making the assumption that anyone who Sphinns quickly did not read what they Sphunn has failed to consider possibilities 2 and 3 above.
We may also Sphinn a submission based on comments/discussions we are engaged in with others in group chats or via individual chat windows. That is how those of use who are very busy quickly communicate today. It is also how we learn and teach new skills to increase productivity.
@flyingrose: As you mention in 2, I find myself going from SU to the article to Sphinn more and more these days.
@jeffquip: so... any stats about whether someone reads the article first probably should take into account what their http referer was before they spun. Or it might look like a lot of people aren't reading the posts first.
Of course I don't read everything I sphinn. What if it's an article I wrote? :)
I "speed read" sphinn, then read throughly, then unsphinn if need be. Reason being is that I can glance through several articles in a few minutes but to actually get the full impact of the article i have to dedicate time to it.
I do read the post when i sphinn.. it's really important and avoid spam posts being promoted.. anyway it's good to know.. a definite sphinn for you :)
Really interesting comments here! I'm glad I'm not the only one!
lol, I've just got into Sphinning, so I make sure to read every article I Sphinn. I hope to keep it that way, but I'm sure there would be prejudices...
I read the posts first. A few times it involved very long posts which I bookmarked to finish (and digest) later -- but had already found value in what I'd read.
I read about 150 search blogs so most of the stuff that I see on Sphinn is stuff I've already read. I'll sometimes go down the list and quickly Sphin everything that I thought was deserving.
Worse... Sometimes I find something new on Sphinn and I'll click through to the article and read it, then forget to go back and give it a Sphinn. (I suck at this stuff)
I vote titles, URLs and avatars, a submission has to really catch my eye for me to click. Factors involved in weather I vote or not: Is the submission from a site I like? Has the site owner linked me before? Has the site owner voted for my submissions or site before? Does the submitter vote my submissions? If the answer to all of these questions is no, then the submission better have a catchy title. There's some honesty for you.
Has the site owner linked me before? Has the site owner voted for my submissions or site before? Does the submitter vote my submissions?
See now that sucks. Those things should have no bearing on whether the article deserves a vote or not. That's the kind of sphinning that will ultimately be the undoing of Sphinn (if lots of people do that).
Although, I thank you for your honesty because I'm sure many others do the same but would never admit it.
I read before Sphinning, but not always from this site as a starting point. I may have found the post elsewhere, read it there, and then clicked on their Sphinn button. I read first because I feel my vote has value and I'd much prefer others to do the same for me. (Vote based on quality, they got something out of the piece, etc.)
Some people have a knack for finding quality posts and it's easy to see how they could be Sphunn based on reputation and trust alone. However, voting on title or avatar is like blind dating.
Looks aren't everything.
Looking at my stats I may have exaggerated a bit there, the fact that I have made 148 comments must mean that I am taking quite a lot of interest in the submissions here and my voting patterns do suggest that I am not just voting for the people who vote for me etc. I would say the things I mentioned are factors though and I would imagine this is the case for a lot of people, maybe even you two subconsciously, I would guess that you both would be more likely to check out or vote for submissions from your friends sites or submissions from popular sites like SEOmoz for instance (I could not spot any patterns whatsoever in your sphinn history Jill, this is very strange and unnatural, you are slightly more prone to vote for more important sites though, this could be due to them creating better content). I do not think there is anything wrong with this, after all this is a social site and it is about making friends and friends help each other out. I guess the point that I am trying to make is that there are other factors involved. This discussion has gone a bit off-topic, I do not think there is anything wrong with voting a submission without clicking the link, a lot of the time the title sez it all.
There are definitely some sites that I know from experience will probably have a worthwhile article, and yes, that will often spur me to check out the article. But I don't like every article I read, even at places where my so-called friends post at.
I only sphinn the ones that I find to be:
- Unique
- Interesting
- Helpful
- Well-written
Doesn't matter who wrote it or who sphunn it if it fits those criteria. Doesn't matter who's sphunn mine or who hasn't. I rarely even look at that.One last thing on the well-written part...
For those who can't seem to get their articles sphunn too often, you might want to take a serious look at your writing style, your grammar, and whether you have typos in your articles.
Those are some of the most important aspects to think about. I will leave an article after the first typo unless it's hugely compellling. And poor grammar, although it's common on many articles, is a huge turnoff to me.
For instance, when you use the word "myself" incorrectly as so many seem to do, it's hard for me to get past that, and unfortunately, I will judge the intelligence (or lack thereof) of the author from those things.
We are not all grammatical wizards...I'm certainly not...but I compensate for it by paying a proofreader to proof all of my articles. (I do give more leeway to forum posts and comments as we all make mistakes in those!)
I never write just for sphinn, I write because I feel that some people like what I have to offer. They may be few in number but they are the ones I intend my message to be seen.
Within sphinn itself I have seen some quite good posts go unnoticed and believe me when you read some posts on offer that make the front page you think WTF!
But, hey, this is the beauty of sphinn.
The majortiy of times however, I find the comments more appealing than the actual post itself - but then again you can't have one without the other.
Jill, bear in mind that some folks here aren't native speakers. There's no such tool as a wizard pointing out all typos and grammatical weirdness. That's why I never use spell checkers and stuff like that, although English is my 3rd (or so) language.
Agreed, Sebastian, and I do try to give non-native English speakers more leeway. But I'm talking about the many true blue American English speakers. (And yes, it seems the Americans are worse than other English speakers.)
I read every article I sphinn. Further, if I liked it enough to sphinn it, I almost always leave a comment as well.
I think everyone is guilt of it, but I actually try to read most of the articles I sphinn. I spend lots of time rumbling through the old pages and catching up on what I have missed.