Bloggers love lists. Especially when they're on them.
Monday, October 1, 2007
So--our deepest prayers have finally been answered. Juiced Sports Blog promises to rank the "100 most influencial sports bloggers." Yes!!!!
At last, I'll know who to trust. It's been tough, not knowing whether to place stock in the ponderings of Bad Idea Blue Jeans or the observations of Here Come the Pretzels.
But still: That's a tall order, Juiced. I mean, rankings can be highly debated, make people angry. Thank goodness you're going to explain your process--you'll surely factor in hits, maybe you'll talk about media mentions, or do some Technorati/Google search that monitors links or buzz.
Oh...you won't do any of that? You'll just throw 100 blogs up there, in some random fashion that sort of mirrors Ballhype's rankings?
...
Well, I see.
Yes, the list is exactly as accurate as any list that excludes Free Darko, Kissing Suzy Kolber, Epic Carnival--while including several blogs that are either defunct or non-sports-focused--would be.
And I don't want to criticize the blogger. He's allowed to state an opinion.
But its up to the rest of us to be, oh, I don't know...skeptical about said opinion.
To their credit, some blogs are amused by the exercise. A few are rightfully curious.
And hey, I'm amused, too...by the blogs that are grateful. Honestly, I wouldn't have written anything beyond my comment on Ballhype...until I saw real blogs taking this seriously.
Like any truly "influencial" blog would celebrate that...a high school kid who seems awful proud of writing his name on his football...has named them among the elite.
Hey--maybe I'd be the same way if Juiced had named me to the Top 100. This is all sour grapes for me, right? But I'd like to think that I'd have balanced any thanks with some question about the rationale.
Nah. Given that I just spent an hour taking this list seriously, I'd probably be the first one slobbering my gratitude. At the end of the day, we all want to be noticed. Even by high schoolers.
10/2 Update: After some readers cried foul that 28th most "influencial" blog--Nyjer Please--is inconveniently defunct, while the well-read Nation of Islam Sports Blog was excluded from the list, Juiced bowed to critics and updated the rankings.
Well, updated the rankings is a bit of a stretch...more like swapped in NOIS and removed Nyjer Please at number 28 overall.
Now, I know what you're thinking...but it makes perfect sense--as those of us around the blogosphere know, Nyjer Please and NOIS blog have exactly the same amount of influence! It really is amazing, given that the blogs are written in completely different styles and focus on different topics, but I totally trust the two equally.
Well, I don't trust Nyjer Please as much as I used to, given that its final post surveys a NL playoff field of the Mets, Dodgers, Cubs, and Braves.
But in the off-chance that young Juiced was lazily correcting a mistake--and neglecting to mention it to his readers--I completely sympathize. I mean, when you're undergoing an exercise that purports to rank blogs on a certain quality, why waste time on any formal assessment? Or say, actually re-rank the blogs to include the ones you've missed?
No--you have to give the readers what they want. In a hurry! As one pleased, 57th most influential guy puts it, we bloggers adhere more to ethics anyway. We would know shoddy research when we see it.
Labels: bloggers need more self-respect, Unsubstantiated lists
posted by Doctor Dribbles @ 00:42,
9 Comments:
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At October 1, 2007 at 2:03 AM,
Ty Keenan said...
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Yes! We finally have company in the ranks of blogs mocked by Doctor Dribbles!
In all seriousness, though, I agree with all your points. The glaring lack of basketball blogs is particularly amazing to me. Honestly, this whole operation (beyond the top 10, at least) looks like nothing more than a ranked blogroll. -
At October 1, 2007 at 2:28 AM,
Doctor Dribbles said...
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Ty, how was I to know you were so amusingly self-deprecating...and so quick to agree with my wisdom?
Good call on the b-ball blogs. There also seems to be a major lack of hockey blogs...and football blogs...and hey, well-read blogs.
(By the way, I totally wanted to argue with your Marion post, but restrained myself this week...in part because other commenters were doing a pretty good job of it.) -
At October 1, 2007 at 3:08 AM,
said...
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I think the worm has turned -it looks like other bloggers are piling on.
The mastermind behind the list is a real winner too. Here's a link to an MP3 interview with him. He sounds like Kige Ramsey's kid brother. -
At October 1, 2007 at 3:28 AM,
said...
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good points. these blogs that are fawning are jokes. but watch deadspin run the link, because theyre more ofa joke than everyone pretends.
the podcast is very informative. love where he promises to give readers money. -
At October 1, 2007 at 10:32 AM,
Jarrett said...
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When dude is the new Will Leitch in 3 years, we'll all be regretting this hateration.
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At October 1, 2007 at 1:03 PM,
Doctor Dribbles said...
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Jarrett, no kidding. Any 18-year-old who can design a blog, do interviews w/NFL players, get this kind of attention...he's like the LeBron James of sports bloggers. I mean, at 18, I was still figuring out how to send an e-mail, you know?
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At October 3, 2007 at 5:28 PM,
said...
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I guess I've been exposed. How does Doctor Dribbles know my age? And how does he know my web address?
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At October 3, 2007 at 8:31 PM,
said...
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Oh, I see now, that's my Facebook page. As you can see, I'm wearing TO's jersey. That's supposed to be like when TO autographed the football.
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At October 3, 2007 at 11:53 PM,
Doctor Dribbles said...
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Aha--the picture now makes more sense. I thought you just didn't want anyone stealing your football.
Congratulations on getting the blogosphere talking. If you're interested in a follow-up post to your top 100 list and building in some metrics, our team came upon the Sports Blog Index today (via the Sports Media Challenge). It looks like that service has some fairly defined ideas of what constitutes "buzz" for blogs.
Have at it, youngster.
