By farmers, I mean linkfarmers.
Lifestream, aggregator, consolidator…fancify it all you want, I am sorry (well, not really) but am I the only one who is sick of these so-called blogs that:
- have close to zero original content
- collects activity around the Internet i.e. YouTube favorites or “love”d songs on last.fm, photos from Flickr, Smugmug, etc., etc.
- pulls in every Tweet – even the ones that make no sense i.e. @namedrop it was so good seeing you, @anothernamedrop @andanothernamedrop @andonemorenamedrop OR #FollowFriday @ilovemybf @ilovemusic @ilovefood @ilovetakingpicturesoffood @omgwtfbbqbacon
Enough is enough.
These so called blogs packed to the brim with any or all of the above, is not a blog. It is a landing page; or simply a linkfarm. Which make those guilty of linkfarming, farmers. And shame on any linkfarmers (you know who you are), if you call yourselves bloggers, because a blogger you are not.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not trying to dictate how people should use their own spaces, but please, out of respect for those who have been doing it for kinda sorta a long time and doing it well? Calling a linkfarm a blog and a linkfarmer a blogger is insulting.
Hey linkfarmers, where’s the original content?
Do you really want to keep encouraging instant gratification?
Where is the substance?
Or do you linkfarmers know something I don’t know; if so, do share. Because for the life of me, I cannot understand why anyone would call their linkfarm a blog.
PixelBits 
Calling them blogs gives them a veneer of respectability.
And what are some good examples of said linkfarms? We want names!
Haha no way, Jose!
Yes, I think original, whiney, substance-free “blogs” are much more credible.
Dry your eyes, princess.
Mine is like that, but I specifically say on it that it used to be a blog but is now just a lifestream. *shrug* Though it does post my “original content” from Flickr, photo galleries, other blogs, etc. as well.
I was actually talking about pros who do this blogging business as a living – my bad for not being specific!
It is just spam blogs, not worth of a mention to be honest. They don’t really have any influence at all…
It would be good to see some examples of these linkfarms – it’s not something I’ve seen a lot myself. I guess it comes down to your definition of a blog as well. Are they actually calling it a blog themselves, or is that the assumption that’s made because of the familiarity of the layout etc..?
If they’re in it purely for the linklove, then they’re going to get found out soon enough and die a slow (and quiet) death :)
I would show examples but not really keen on singling people out – that’s just mean, but there are tons of people who call themselves bloggers and get sponsored as a blogger (as in, they get paid) to attend events as a blogger who only have linkfarms.
I surely hope they die a slow and quiet death – I’m getting tired of needing to sift through crap. ;)
Hah. I believe what you’re referring to is what Google likes to call “thin affiliates”. It’s actually a pretty out-dated, small-minded way of thinking about SEO. When I say out-dated, I mean 2002 or whatever. Shawn Collins wrote something back in 2005 urging affiliate marketers NOT to do this: http://blog.affiliatetip.com/archives/inside-scoop-of-what-google-thinks-of-affiliates/
Believe me, since I work in the industry, I get very tired of seeing these sites pop up. Oh well. If most of these people put half the effort into learning to write good content (or hire people to write good content), they wouldn’t need to resort to farming :)