One minor point on the comment bullshit

I'm going to pick on MG Siegler here, because well, he's the current poster child.

He writes:

I welcome feedback. Just do it on your own site or on Twitter, Facebook, etc. That small barrier alone removes most of the idiots.
Let’s be totally honest here: anyone worthwhile leaving a comment should do so on their own blog. Very few read blog comments anyway. I’m sorry, but it’s true. Commenting is a facade. It makes you think you have a voice. You don’t. Get your own blog and write how you really feel on your own site.

While we're being totally honest, let's understand something that Siegler's philosophy creates: Juice, specifically Google/search engine juice. The idea that somehow, "forcing" people to comment on a story on their own site(s) will magically create more intelligent discourse is bullshit, and it's stupid bullshit. It will do no such thing. So...what will it do?

Well, if I play by his and Gruber's rules, it will create links back to their articles. It will create SEO gold, and alllll kinds of search juice. When you make your money from such things, and Gruber and Siegler do, well, comments kind of suck. They don't juice you as well. So fine, I can play, but I'm doing it on my terms. If I comment on an article by someone espousing this stupid bullshit about comments, I'm not linking to shit. Why should I give them juice and ad money for free? What the fuck will they do for me in return? Give me a cut of the ad money/other income from the increased search juice it generates?

BAAAAAAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!

<inhale>

AAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH!

At best, they will maybe, maybe say "Thank You", but I'm not holding my breath, because well, the sense of entitlement with regard to links & SEO juice is not small. SEO juice is money, I don't give money away to random entitled elitist hipsters.

I'll reference the article(s) in question in a reasonably clear way. I may even use the title, (In this case, it's "Comments Still Off" on Siegler's parislemon tumblr blog.) That way, I'm still attributing "correctly", (for at least smallish values of "correctly".) But even the minimal SEO value I generate, I'm not giving that away just because someone's too fucking snotty to allow their precious genius to be "tainted" by comments. You want me to link to you? You want me to help boost your SEO? For Free?

Fuck You. Pay Me, as Mike Montiero is fond of saying. I make no small amount of money because of this site, albeit indirectly. You don't get to siphon that for free, not even minimally, and damned sure not when you're being a total snot about it.

Siegler says:

Earn your voice.

Earn your SEO boost motherfucker. My time has value, so does my bandwidth. You want me to give you both, cross my fucking palm with silver.

(my son's comment: "Thirty pieces and you'll betray Jesus". Every year, that kid gets more awesome.)

Categories: Other

Posted by John C. Welch at 20:35 | Permalink

Comments

Warning for Notes users: The commenting system uses HTML.
I know this will be scary for some of you, especially Notes fans. However, open standards, rah-rah.
If you want to use less-than or greater-than signs, or other similar characters that HTML reserves,
you'll simply have to learn to do it the HTML way. Luckily, HTML is kind of popular, no matter what
your re-educators have told you, and you can easily find help on the intertubes.

I'm going to pick on MG Siegler here, because well, he's the current poster child.\n\nHe writes:\n\n

I welcome feedback. Just do it on your own site or on Twitter, Facebook, etc. That small barrier alone removes most of the idiots. \n\nLet’s be totally honest here: anyone worthwhile leaving a comment should do so on their own blog. Very few read blog comments anyway. I’m sorry, but it’s true. Commenting is a facade. It makes you think you have a voice. You don’t. Get your own blog and write how you really feel on your own site.

\n\nWhile we're being totally honest, let's understand something that Siegler's philosophy creates: Juice, specifically Google/search engine juice. The idea that somehow, \"forcing\" people to comment on a story on their own site(s) will magically create more intelligent discourse is bullshit, and it's stupid bullshit. It will do no such thing. So...what will it do? \n\nWell, if I play by his and Gruber's rules, it will create links back to their articles. It will create SEO gold, and alllll kinds of search juice. When you make your money from such things, and Gruber and Siegler do, well, comments kind of suck. They don't juice you as well. So fine, I can play, but I'm doing it on my terms. If I comment on an article by someone espousing this stupid bullshit about comments, I'm not linking to shit. Why should I give them juice and ad money for free? What the fuck will they do for me in return? Give me a cut of the ad money/other income from the increased search juice it generates?\n\nBAAAAAAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!\n\n<inhale>\n\nAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH!\n\nAt best, they will maybe, maybe say \"Thank You\", but I'm not holding my breath, because well, the sense of entitlement with regard to links & SEO juice is not small. SEO juice is money, I don't give money away to random entitled elitist hipsters. \n\nI'll reference the article(s) in question in a reasonably clear way. I may even use the title, (In this case, it's \"Comments Still Off\" on Siegler's parislemon tumblr blog.) That way, I'm still attributing \"correctly\", (for at least smallish values of \"correctly\".) But even the minimal SEO value I generate, I'm not giving that away just because someone's too fucking snotty to allow their precious genius to be \"tainted\" by comments. You want me to link to you? You want me to help boost your SEO? For Free?\n\nFuck You. Pay Me, as Mike Montiero is fond of saying. I make no small amount of money because of this site, albeit indirectly. You don't get to siphon that for free, not even minimally, and damned sure not when you're being a total snot about it.\n\nSiegler says:\n\n

Earn your voice.

\n\nEarn your SEO boost motherfucker. My time has value, so does my bandwidth. You want me to give you both, cross my fucking palm with silver.\n\n(my son's comment: \"Thirty pieces and you'll betray Jesus\". Every year, that kid gets more awesome.)