The Ad Age Power 150 has four primary metrics Google Page Rank (SEO), Bloglines subs (RSS), Technorati score (links), and a subjective ranking from Todd And. You probably think I’m referring to Todd’s ranking. Au contraire.
This is about Bloglines. Bloglines is an older RSS reader, yet it is used as a primary metric in the 150.
The Buzz Bin has more RSS subs than some of the other blogs on the Power 150 (not naming names, these lists are silly and I’m making an observation, not kvetching). This is because said blogs post how many feedburner subs they have on their blog. Feedburner stats include Bloglines subs.
Yet the Buzz Bin is not ranked in the top 150 (209 currently), in large part because we only have 14 Bloglines subs. Because I also use Feedburner, I can tell you this comprises a single percentage point of our overall readership. By far Google Reader is the preferred feed reader of my subs, by almost 6 to 1.
Bloglines predates Google Reader, which creates a reward for longevity issue. Since its release, Google Reader has become extremely popular, dominating the RSS marketplace (as noted by Problogger). Bloglines’ defeat was pretty much declared six months ago in February.
In informal polling most people say they don’t use Bloglines anymore. Yet isn’t it likely that their Bloglines accounts have old subs to many feeds, still measured as active hits? Maybe some still use Bloglines. But those who are new to RSS probably prefer Google Reader.
The Buzz Bin became popular in April after we changed the name from “Diary of an Ad Man” to the Buzz Bin. This change occurred to allow the entire team at Livingston to blog (instead of just a man). We have been blogging since April, 2006 (yesterday was entry # 350). Yet, almost all of our RSS subs have come to us in the age of Google Reader. Hence a low Bloglines sub rate.
The Bloglines Reward
Our RSS subs demonstrates the point. Older blogs who were popular in 2006 and years prior are rewarded for their longevity thanks to Bloglines. I’m not sure whether rewarding older blogs or measuring RSS subscriptions was Todd And’s intent, but that’s the result.
These lists are silly, flawed memes that really are great for attracting the bloggers listed to such and such sites (not to mention garnering links). None of them are completely accurate. What really matters are the actual readers. Specifically, whether or not they find your content to be worthwhile, and are loyal.
Lists are great ways to discover other blogs. Of all the lists, I prefer this one because it’s hosted by a neutral party (unlike Edelman’s joke). So we’ll leave it at that.
Great point, I figure Todd went with Bloglines b/c it was the only way for him to publicly see subscription numbers??
My issue, and yes I’m completely whining, is that he uses my old URL (I can’t be the only one) which does not have the same Technorati ranking, SEO or bloglines ranking…which obviously lowers my score significantly.
OK, done with my self-serving, list-pumping thoughts for today.
/kff
You and I both would gain from a more reliable approach to RSS. I just don’t know how they could do that…
This is an excellent point, Geoff. I love that Ad Age provided an OPML of all feeds, though, as it allows me to burn through a lot of headlines all at once.
On the other hand, providing it doesn’t reward good content, it just ensures those who started early have an opportunity to pad their lead, making it more difficult for new blogs to gain traction.