Are You Worthy of the DoFollow?
Ok, so something about the DoFollow blog movement is really starting to irritate me. Blog newbies who see any one of the hundreds of blogs that are on any one of the hundreds of “DoFollow Lists” and rush out to post a meaningless comment so as to get a free backlink.
DoFollow, of course, is that little wordpress plugin that removes the “nofollow” tag from blog comments and passes link juice to people who comment on your blogs. It’s basically a way for the blogger to thank their community for taking the time to add some value to that community by making meaningful contributions via commenting.
Jamdo has been part of the DoFollow movement for quite a while.
But I have to admit, if I get too many more people who add a generic comment like “Yeah, that’s a great insight into [INSERT BLOG TOPIC HERE]” then I will start to think a lot more about removing the plugin and reverting to the bad old days of nofollow.
So too people who make their username (and thus anchor text for their link) some keyword they are targetting like SEO, or Database or something like that. Nothing screams spam like that.
Now, the thing is while the above behaviour is irritating, I would happily accept it from longer term readers who had already proven their worth with meaningful comments. After all, there can be some give and take in building a community.
But if you have never commented on a blog before and are unlikely to return, then making a spammy comment with a spammy username, even if done manually is STILL spam. It is rude.
So don’t do it.
Use your common sense and make a few meaningful comments that are longer than 10 words. Join the conversation of a blog. Show the blog owner that you have taken the time to actually read the whole post and not just the title. Add an insight and anecdote of your own.
Your comment and link will have a lot better chance of not being deleted.
And you will be going a lot further to building COMMUNITY - which after all is the whole strength of blogging.
I have never made a spam comment (ok you can scrutinize this one for example). It’s relevant and to the point.
September 26th, 2007 at 5:06 amDid you feel the post was aimed at you?
September 26th, 2007 at 10:51 pmobviously yes. I have 7 year track record of posting the best comments on the internets.
September 27th, 2007 at 1:08 amIts ironic that many bloggers talk about this but then they actually use no follow.
September 28th, 2007 at 2:27 amMy sentiments exactly! I am done with the no follow movement. I am going to install this plugin Lucias Link Love, that you can set to remove the nofollow after however many comments are given…
But for my other niche blog sites I create I will not takeout the nofollows. Not worth it.
I also hate those people who keyword stuff their name and also leave a lame comment…
Check my lame comments at ecoshopper.net
September 29th, 2007 at 2:56 amObviously people use dofollow blogs to build links for new sites. As long as the relationship pays both ways, it’s a fair deal. If I’m serving, I want you to leave a relevant comment, and not just some crap like “Nice site, this is great!”. If I’m commenting, then yeah, thank you for the link. Both of us benefit.
September 30th, 2007 at 2:17 amI haven’t used it myself (I use Drupal), but I’ve heard pretty good things about Lucia’s Link Love.
IMO, a good middle ground is nofollowing comment links but occasionally calling out good commenters in a post. It both encourages return readership and commenting and cuts down on spammy comments.
October 24th, 2007 at 4:34 amHaven’t had a problem with those kind of comments yet. Maybe I’m just lucky. If it does get out of hand, I’ll probably switch to Lucia’s plugin.
October 31st, 2007 at 1:50 amThat can really be bothering. Spamming is a no-no. But if you are to make comments, make it somehow relevant.
November 23rd, 2007 at 8:03 amWell and as differently. I am worthy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 25th, 2007 at 12:36 pmManual Spam is hard to define. Where does it begin and where does it end?
Is it just the anchor tag which makes a comment spammy? Or is it the comment itself? If it’s the comment itself is it then okay to post a keyword as name? Or do I have to write a great comment and use my real name as my name?
March 17th, 2008 at 8:58 pmI think it is a great idea to offer readers the DoFollow option. But of course you have to monitor the comments as I do on my blog. Thanks for your thoughts!
May 7th, 2008 at 6:19 am