Can Links Be Bought?

As the old saying goes, "Everyone has their price". We're at the beginning of a potential new wave of changes to the social infrastructure of the blogosphere and many are wondering what metrics will come to rule and what practices will guide some and disturb others.

This progression to a more established publishing medium, one that has garnered the respect of both the marketing and mass media machines, will introduce many of the original arguments that plagued journalism. Probably floating to the top will be the ethical issues surrounding the separation of advertiser and editorial content.

Tossing the first stone, Peter Caputa has begun a quite interesting little experiment. He's offered a bounty to the individuals that can promote a specific link on his site into key positions on Technorati. The real goal of the experiment is to glimpse at what efforts people are willing to go through to "sell" their links. Hopefully we'll see some results in a week or so.

One comment that came from a subsequent discussion on the site raised something quite succinct about the blogging game, as it stands today:

Easiest way to get links? Link. Plain and simple. You've just made it onto my reading list, so next time you post something that I have something to add to, I'll link to you.

As a result, you'll get 50-100 new visitors. You'll likely get a dozen new readers. Some of those will link... And so on.

It's the practice of linking which gets traffic. It's the practice of great writing and good thoughts that keeps it.

Source: User Comments, Jeremy C. Wright

This sentiment is reflective of the tried and true nature of the blogosphere. A merit-based system that highly rewards originality and creativity, we've seen many enter at the edges with these very goals in mind. However, I've got to wonder what causes memes to spread, what makes someone the flavor of the day (if there is such a thing).

Is there another model that isn't quite obvious yet? A model that is far more transitive, perhaps swelling to the occasion and dissipating just as quickly? It seems that if we are to entertain the notion of blogs as business, we're going to have to also translate some of the other successful business practices as well.