I link to a fair few sites on the blog, either through blogrolls or through explicit links embedded in the articles I write. For article links, it’s fairly self-explanatory that I link to content that I’ve found interesting or thought provoking for some reason, and that I want to share with others. For things like the blogroll it’s a bit trickier, so I thought I’d explain my thought processes.
This site has three blogrolls and each are managed separately.
The main one is a list on the side of the page headed “Reading”. This is the list of blogs I commonly read, with a particular focus on mage blogs. It automatically sorts itself to link to more recent articles at the top, so if you haven’t updated in a while (about a day usually) you might not appear on the list. It’s mostly people that I commonly read and whose content I regularly enjoy. That said, I want it to be relevant to my readers and visitors as well, so I have a really simple approach to inclusion.
- If you’re a mage blogger and I haven’t got you on my rotating blogroll list, please drop me a mail or leave a comment and I’ll take a look at it. There aren’t many mage bloggers and I want to do my part in sharing the love. If you’re a new mage blogger, please contact me and let me know you’ve started!
- Other people whose content I regularly read and find interesting, I’ll generally include in my blogroll. However the list isn’t actively managed or curated, so don’t be offended if you’re not there.
I also link to a handful of podcasts listed under “Listening”. Again, this isn’t exhaustive, as there are other podcasts I listen to. I don’t have time to listen to all shows out there, but I do know that a lot of people produce some great content. I’m open for recommendations on podcasts, so feel free to suggest ones you think I’ll like.
The final page is the static Blogroll page. I’m really bad at managing this, and should really look at some fancy way of automating it, or tying it into Google Reader, or something. Don’t worry about it though – analytics tell me that it’s hardly looked at anyway.
So, with all that said, there are some things that I will/won’t do with regards to blogroll links.
- If I link to you, it’s because I like your stuff and want to encourage people to read it. I don’t link to you expecting a link back.
- Conversely, I don’t participate in link exchanges, linkfarms or link rings. Please don’t ask.
- I don’t link to people for money, perks, gifts or something else without clearly declaring it as such. You can’t buy a spot on the blogroll, but you can do things like sponsor a post or the podcast, or buy advertising through my chosen affiliate scheme. (note, I’m not in this to make money – see my Advertising policy).
That’s really all there is to it. Nothing particularly special or complicated, and I’d like to keep things simple. That said, I reserve the right to add/decline adding/remove blogs from my blogroll as I deem appropriate at the time, and without having to give reason for doing so. If you ask me about a blogroll action I’ve taken, please don’t expect a response or bug me about it.