DISQUS

Not if he waits until the web2.0 bubble is completely deflated.

I have been following your postings for around a year, and I agree with Vlad that you are Good People. :)

Help or hinder, hard to tell? Have you read the comments on YouTube or browsed the most viewed videos? Great speech though.

Well, to start, the way you began the post is really sexist. You make it sound like famous men have no detractors. ALL famous people have detractors, both men and women.

I also don't think you would worry too much about finding a guy. You don't really come off as slut, more like a smart, liberated girl who isn't afraid to admit she's had sex and *gasp* enjoyed it.

I agree wholeheartedly with what you say about self submission, but I don't think that's the solution. The reason the content is going down hill is because the audience is changing. Digg and Reddit used to be much more niche oriented. A smaller group of discerning users submitted and promoted content that appealed to them. Now that social media is going mainstream, you see the horrific mainstream taste coming through. Not a bad thing, just a fact of life. The purists will have to build a new site.

I agree wholeheartedly with what you say about self submission, but I don't think that's the solution. The reason the content is going down hill is because the audience is changing. Digg and Reddit used to be much more niche oriented. A smaller group of discerning users submitted and promoted content that appealed to them. Now that social media is going mainstream, you see the horrific mainstream taste coming through. Not a bad thing, just a fact of life. The purists will have to build a new site.

Ben,

You've let the cat out the bag with this one. I do my best to follow my own advice, but like any other human being, I occasionally slip. That's the problem with writing -- there will always be some hypocrisy. Just because you can say the right thing, doesn't mean you can do it all the time.

That being said, I think that writing a site about self improvement keeps the subject at the front of my mind and motivates me to practice what I preach. While I can't follow my own advice perfectly, I'm definitely doing better than I would be if I didn't write and think about those topics.

That's unfortunate about the pre-orders. Regardless, you've got a great book. I'm sure it will still sell. My advance copy arrived on Monday and I'm about 2/3 through it. It's given me a lot to think about and I plan on writing an in depth review for my blog.

The Amazon Affiliates plugin. This one certainly deserves donations because it makes it easier for bloggers to earn money themselves.

If it's something you can disclose, I'd be interested to hear more about the hard evidence you've seen about links being devalued by the search engines.

It's sad to see, but really makes sense. Blogs are abusing the system through links swaps and link-for-review contests that are creating thousands of links that are in no way related to content. I wonder how Google will adjust, maybe a blog penalty?

Excellent explanation. I think you've convinced me to make the move. Do Follow is much better than Top Commentators, as Andy also wrote.