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.
My family and I just returned from a short vacation to Yosemite in celebration of Vicky and I being married for 10 years. John Muir, a saint of Martinez, wrote that one should climb the mountains and get their glad tidings. That line bounced around my head as we were walking around the valley. When we’d planned the trip months ago, we expected snow in the valley to play in, but it was warm–at least 70F every day–just perfect. This being so early in the season, the waterfalls were full and roaring. Some waterfalls that don’t flow every year were flowing. It was great!
We did get to play in the snow by taking the bus up to Badger Pass. They rent innertubes to ride down a little hill. Tre and I took several rides with one big spill. I forgot how rough ice can be, and Tre scraped up his arm pretty good. I was so proud of him not ending the fun there, continuing on with more rides down the hill.
We stayed at Yosemite Lodge, which offers small motel rooms, a cafeteria and a little store. The TV had one channel that played a promotional film for Delaware Northern Company, the company that has the contract to provide services in the valley. I noticed that all the people we interacted with were exceptionally nice. Maybe they are happy to be working in Yosemite, or maybe it’s part of DNC’s ISO 9000 certification.