Jason Calacanis is known for many things, but I tend to associate him most with the 9th inning of the Gillmor Gang. It was just like when a baseball team is clearly out of the race and they start bringing in rookies to try out for next year. Sure, this guy might hit a few batters, but he also racks up a bunch of strike outs. And it’s fun to watch.
Earlier today, Jason outlined a technique for getting his attention by posting to a blog, “New Calacanis link-bating rules”. I’m sure it’s occurred to him that this technique works fairly well for any clueful citizen of the 21st century blogtropolis. That was part of my point when I wrote “The Unlinked Link”. Here’s a more succinct theory: you can say something nice and interesting (in that order), and the right people tend to hear you, tend to pay attention.
I’ve always felt that being nice matters. If someone complements me, I’m more apt to focus on what they are saying. If someone starts a conversation with something negative, I’ll spend some energy on presenting my side of the argument, which leaves less attention to be aimed at what they are trying to communicate.
You must follow up your polite attitude with something interesting. Just kissing butt won’t cut it. If someone goes on and on complementing me (stop laughing–it happens!), I will find it hard to pay full attention if there isn’t some interesting content mixed in.
I wonder if Jason might appreciate my being “elitist” and “selfish” by referring to people as clueful and by not using anchor tags. I’m not giving link love, but I am giving real love, Google unlinked love.
The reason being nice matters is that it’s a benevolent universe. And lest anyone doubt that I’m nice, please refer to the self-deprecating humor two paragraphs ago. Dave Winer recommended this style of humor recently. But before I start a full-on Douglas Hofstadter impersonation, I will halt this post before it become too self-referential. This is the last sentence in this post.