There is a reason why there is a #followfriday on Twitter and though a lot of people miss the point in recommending others. Follow Friday was created by Micah Baldwin (@micah) and was to allow people to honestly tell others who they should follow and why. This concept has been altered and unfortunately for the worse. I have found a lot of sites lacking in this especially since I have personally met some really great people who are pretty famous in each of their fields.
Some of these lists contain people who have benefited from others who have pioneered the way in the same field. Some have expertly put themselves in that field using techniques like SEO, but their articles have lacked that extra ‘oomph’ to connect with people who are savvy in the same field because they are merely dishing out the same facts.
1. You should probably not blog about it, but list them on your social network, especially during #followfriday
The reason is that a lot of top 10 lists and “who is who” lists are extremely bias. A lot of them may be unknowns who have gotten their experience from top experts in their niche, and really have not much influenced. They have ridden the SEO tail successfully, but have done nothing to provide unique material to help others.
2. You might want to dig deeper than your own circle.
Your friends and affiliates will always appreciate the shoutouts, but if you cannot go outside the box, how can you attract people who might actually be influential enough to increase your traffic? Look for people who are innovators and provide a great way for others to improve in their niche. These people who do are usually not given the credit they deserve and others pimp off their information and try to claim it for their own.
3. Just because someone has a great rank, does not always mean they might have the best advice.
You should remember to read sites and decipher whether or not they contain valuable information. A lot of people are quick to cleverly label their posts and put keywords into their site to fool search engines, but what happens when someone is smart enough to catch it? Not only does the original article writer look bad, but you do too if you are promoting it. Think about it… if the person you recommend is not as knowledgeable then that might backfire on you if you are recommending people who are lacking. Look how long they have been and how steady their success has been… not how short. There are too many internet fad biusinesses and websites that short out in less than a year! It is extremely easy to be called out for blindly sharing articles on the internet – READ before promoting!!!
4. It might be best to just not blog a list of whos who.
Although there are people who will be curious and look, the article will ALWAYS be lacking. There WILL be people who are missed. Rather than blog about it… leave it to the social network streams. This will leave the blog itself open to much more valuable information.
What is your policy about blogging and recommending others to follow.
I don't like lists. Like you said, there are always people not mentioned that need to be mentioned. I like features on specific people rather than a list of several because you can get to know someone better.
I avoid reading lists like the plague.
I don't mind reading lists if they are good. What I mean by good is that some depth is put with each person rather than a name, and their site link. That is not going to pull in as much as someone taking the time to put together a content-filled post and learn about those people they plan to feature.
I'm very new to the world and twitter especially. I try learning by imitating other tweeps. I hope this is the only way of learning till you build-up your own personality.
I saw #followfriday where people are suggesting other people whom they liked. So I tweeted my favourite friends on twitter. Hope this is not crime.
I'm afraid, I have mentioned you on #followfriday many times. Sorry! if I did any mistakes, but you are one of the great friends I met in blogging world.
My recent post Why BlogEngage, FAQ PAL, MMO rocks for bloggers?
It is more acceptable on the social networks to list people… but always remember to add a little extra on why you should follow someone. I do make #followfriday lists, but it makes it more meaningful if I have quite a few people to mention that I should space them out when tweeting. Also, group some of the people into a niche so you can make sure people know that they are people you recommend in that particular niche (like blogging, or SEO for example.)
This was meant for the blogging aspects on making lists and allowing people to make sure the effectively promote a person rather than just throw a list on their blog. The blog is a great place to create new quality content… so like Lydia was talking about above, a featurette would be ideal. Not only are you promoting someone that might be unknown, but you are link building and seen in a more positive light by others in your niche.
Prior to this posting, I did not know the concept behind #FollowFriday. Now that I know, I am going to be more mindful and appreciate the connections I make on social networking site through blog posts. And, I will be mindful about quality as opposed to quantity going forward.
My recent post Poll: Will you vote for your A…
Prior to this posting, I did not know the concept behind #FollowFriday. Now that I know, I am going to be more mindful and appreciate the connections I make on social networking site through blog posts. And, I will be mindful about quality as opposed to quantity going forward.
My recent post Poll: Will you vote for your A…
Thanks Marcie! I am glad it sounded logical. If you just put a list of names, there is not much to gain. Putting a little info just puts a little more oomph to your post and allows that person to be properly introduced. 🙂