Frederic, who writes The Last Podcast blog, wondered why Scoble keeps promoting his link blog and what value it is.
The reason I read it and find it valuable is that it brings interesting items to my attention. And while there may be some noise from my perspective, Scoble is unlikely to link something purely to get paid or get praise. Contrast this to posts on Digg. There are many, many people spending a lot of energy to equal what one person is doing. Plus, I have to wonder if some of the oddball links that appear in the Digg top posts aren’t ads.
Now, do I value Scoble’s or anyone else’s analysis? Of course. I have a separate folder in Google Reader called “Vendor Sports” that I read more often and always first. These bloggers include Doc Searls, Dave Winer, Steve Gillmor, Dana Gardener, Mike Arrington, Robert Scoble and, yes, Frederic. 15 to 30 minutes a day keeps in me in the loop.
When it comes to commentary on Digg, I don’t value it. I got tired of clicking twice to get to the real story, and I found someone who’s massaging the Digg feed to point directly at the story.
This situation reminds me of the theory that the right positions in a small set of stocks will get you the same performance as the entire universe of equities. Maybe there’s a parallel to a good mix of stocks and bonds versus a good mix of link blogs and commentary blogs. I’ve developed my portfolio of feeds, and I’m happy with the performance.