Sphinn - No, Unfortunately Digg Doesn't Know Who You Are

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No, Unfortunately Digg Doesn't Know Who You Are

Went Hot: May 30, 2008 - 10:19 am
Posted By: SEOhack 401 days ago
Topic Type: News Story (Jump to http://www.seomoz.org)
Category: Social Media

An excellent article showing how while we might know who's who in our industry, the internet at large doesn't and how that familiarity can harm one's Digg submission. This is a must read for anyone that hasn't played much on Digg. Bookmark it and share it with your clients as well.

8 Comments

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Comments

from mphung 401 days ago #

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Lots of good lessons in this:

Know your audience, what they like or dislike
News Flash: most regular social media consumers don't like SEOs
Don't go all "I'm part of the cool kids club and know the inside jokes". It doesn't make you look cool to strangers, it's actually a big turn-off.
Practice what you preach - if you're a social media professional who advises clients on how to engage with communities, be respectful in your non-client interactions with those communities as well
If you complain about *how* people praise you and tell them how they could have done it better -- even if it's constructive and has broader implications -- some people are going to get annoyed with you
If you change the title of your post because it's too inflamatory, be sure to change the slug too
When you tell people on Twitter to go sphinn an article, go check that it even got submitted in the first place. :)

I think this is a great article for SEOs to read. There's a tendency to operate in an echo chamber where everyone pats everyone else on the back for being part of the club. On the one hand, it's great because it's overall a very friendly and welcoming group. But it also has a tendency to be a little too self congratulatory. Every once in a while we need a wake up call that reminds us that SEO/sphinn/etc isn't the "real world."

from SEOhack 401 days ago #

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damn, that comment is a good post! =) i couldn't agree more with your echo chamber sentiment. I think that's the thing with becoming part of a micro-community - after a while, you think you are the interweb and therefore what's important to your tribe is important in large.

from Dorian 399 days ago #

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Great comment mphung! If the Mozzers would have approached the original article the way you presented your comments here, it would have been a lot better.

Practice what you preach - if you're a social media professional who advises clients on how to engage with communities, be respectful in your non-client interactions with those communities as well
I don't think they were respectful to those that took the time to Digg/comment and I felt like I was being "talked down to" in the post.

If you complain about *how* people praise you and tell them how they could have done it better -- even if it's constructive and has broader implications -- some people are going to get annoyed with you
If someone is going to take the time to follow you on Twitter, read your blog post, then Digg/comment on it... you should say "thanks" instead of telling them how to comment. Why should I bother to Digg another request from seomoz next time they ask?

If you change the title of your post because it's too inflamatory, be sure to change the slug too
Nice find. Rand must have saw that original title and made them change it.

seomoz.org/blog/News-Flash-Digg-Doesnt-Know-Who-The-Hell-You-Are

The message and information in the post was good. They should have just presented it in a different way. Something like "Thanks for the votes/comments but here are some things we should have done different."

from SEOhack 399 days ago #

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i dunno, Dorian. that was my takeaway from rebecca's post. i thought i read "thank you" quite a few times.

from Dorian 399 days ago #

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i dunno, Dorian. that was my takeaway from rebecca's post. i thought i read "thank you" quite a few times.
Were we reading the same blog post?

Seomoz is in a position where they have a lot of loyal followers. If this same post was on another blog we would probably see a lot more negative comments.

This goes back to problem that mphung pointed out...

There's a tendency to operate in an echo chamber where everyone pats everyone else on the back for being part of the club. On the one hand, it's great because it's overall a very friendly and welcoming group. But it also has a tendency to be a little too self congratulatory.

There are too many commenters on seomoz that like to "pat the back of the mozzers". If anyone *dares* to post an opposing view, they are immediately thumbed down or attacked. It's not a good learning environment for a field like SEO (that is not an exact science) when you can't look at things objectively.

I liked reading seomoz back in the day when Michael Martinez would comment. The guy was an asshole, but at least he made you look at things from a different angle. I think the seomoz community has drove away most of the *Michael Martinez* type of contributors. (Maybe that's the goal of their new business model?)

I still read seomoz and think the best of the mozzers, but I don't bother reading the comments anymore.

from janecopland 399 days ago #

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@Dorian. Rand didn't request that Rebecca change the title; she did it of her own accord, and was also the sole author of the post... just in reference to the mention of "them" and "they."

from Calamier 399 days ago #

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I couldn't disagree with you any more Dorian, and your comment drips with irony in a most humorous way.

"If you complain about *how* people praise you and tell them how they could have done it better -- even if it's constructive and has broader implications -- some people are going to get annoyed with you
If someone is going to take the time to follow you on Twitter, read your blog post, then Digg/comment on it... you should say "thanks" instead of telling them how to comment. Why should I bother to Digg another request from seomoz next time they ask?"

THAT is your problem, YOU don't understand social media. If you think of commenting and voting for a post as a favor for seomoz, you are networking for the wrong reason (and a very unproductive one at that). You should vote and comment if you enjoy and take something valuable away from the post.

Additionally, the idea that rebecca was talking down to seomoz is also wrong. She was merely pointing out the fact that we should be aware of how our comments reflect on our community. You can't discredit rebeccas authority on the subject of SMM, try to take criticism constructively instead of responding out of self-interest.

from Dorian 399 days ago #

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Calamier,

You are right about me not understanding social media. I'll be the first to say that. However, when someone asks for a Digg and you take the time to do it... how is that not a favor?

If you think of commenting and voting for a post as a favor for seomoz, you are networking for the wrong reason (and a very unproductive one at that).

I'm not networking at all. You might find it hard to believe, but people do read Sphinn and other sites for informational/entertainment value. Not everyone is here to network and promote their own personal brand and agenda.

try to take criticism constructively instead of responding out of self-interest.

What is my self-interest here? I don't understand this at all.

The fact that I am even commenting says a lot about seomoz. I enjoy their blog and services enough that I would take the time to voice my opinion when I see something I don't like. If I didn't care about the community, I would just unsubscribe and move on.