Star Tech

Hari Spotter And The Exchanger Of Secrets

In my newspaper column `Blog Cabin’, published in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, I recently answered a question from Hari. This is an edited version of my answer to his question, which I think might perhaps be relevant to other bloggers as well.

Could you please review my blog and let me know what can be done to improve it.

Mate, I hope you're good at algebra, because there's one piece of an interesting equation missing here. Good blog? Check. Wide appeal? Check. Reader comments? Er, um, gone AWOL, your honour.

Book review blogs are safe territory, because they always evoke a reaction. Yours embraces many genres, but I'm baffled by the lack of comments. Like Julie Andrews, let's start at the very beginning. Claim your blog at Technorati and activate the Technorati ping sequence, which tells people every time you update the blog.

Next, you need a hit counter. If you're serious about engaging your readers (and there's no reason why a blog of this nature cannot do so) then you need to know who's visiting, how long they spend on your site -- and, vitally, if they're coming back.

I use the Site Meter hit counter. It's free and gives you a wide range of real-time information and statistics. All you have to do is register at SiteMeter.com and follow the prompts.

Editorially, I would suggest some basic improvements. First up, proof-read or spell-check each post. Don't allow mistakes to creep into text. Just as they would irk you if you were reviewing a book, they are a turn-off to your readers too. When you talk about Shirley Hardy-Rix, there is a reference to her as Shirley Hardy-Pix - and there's a smattering of other minor errors that should be fixed.

It's great that you try to contact some of the authors. This could be the one thing that sets you apart from other book review bloggers, so highlight an author's response when you get it. Post well, post often - and make sure to emphasise features that set you apart from other similar blogs.

PS: Take your lawyer to the pub every Friday - you'll need his/her help if you call authors ``horny''. Publicity is good, but not when you're being sued.

Rank Organisation

Once Again, My Thanks To You All

I just happened to notice that my blog has actually made it into the top 100,000 as rated by Technorati. It's currently at 95,420 and I can tell you I'm pretty pleased about that. I'd also like to thank Biz Stone, the blogger and author who first drew attention to my work, hailing me as ``the post title pun master''. Thank you, Biz. I've never forgotten.

Star Tech

Missing Links. (Where Did They Go?)

Here’s a query I got asked during the week – it’s a variation on a fairly common theme among bloggers.

I have a question regarding my blog's list of incoming links. Although my blog has at least 20 incoming links, Technorati only recognises four. Why is that?

There is a well-informed discussion thread at Google Blogger Help. However, to the best of my knowledge, there are two specific reasons that could be the cause. First, Technorati's ranking system measures the number of blogs, not the number of links those blogs provide. This means if two blogs each include five links to you, Technorati will credit you with two links, not 10.

Second, while Technorati is geared to index full content from blogs, this only apllies to full-content feed from respective bloggers. If this is not the case, Technorati indexes the HTML on the front page. If bloggers have linked to you ``after the jump'' (ie, not on the front page) the link will not be recognised.