How Not to Blog

There are just some things you don't do when you're blogging.

Splogging

Spam Blogging, also known as splogging, is using your blog solely to generate links pointing back to your site.  To get content, a splogger either machine-generates keyword-rich gibberish or steals content from another blog feed, article, or web site.  Then they load it up with links and post it.

Don't do this.  Really.  If you're going to blog and put links back to your site, be original.  Answer e-mails from your visitors.  Write about your thoughts.  Respond to comments.  Discuss the content of your site, site updates, or anything related to your chosen topic.  But don't post a massive quantity of useless garbage, or worse still, steal and plagurize someone elses content.  It will get you blacklisted, and in the case of plagurism, possibly sued.

Spinging

Spam Pinging, or spinging, is when someone unnecessarily pings to force spidering by a search engine.  This is along the lines of hundred a minute, usually machine generated, in order to trick a service into believing a blog is fresh, and therefore cause the systems to spider your blog.  This is extremely abusive, and the services that do ping are taking precautions against it now to insure pinging automation doesn't occur.

To avoid this one, only ping when your content has changed.  It's that simple.

Spam Commenting

Blogs come with comment links underneath their articles for the placement of comments by anyone who visits.  Spam Commenting is when someone leaves a comment for the sole purpose of tacking a link onto a blogging page.  This is rude to say the least, and another thing upon which services are cracking down.

If you read a blog and want to comment, don't spam.  The blog owners have better things to do than deal with it.  Like write posts.

Don't be a scummy blogger or blog visitor.  Avoid these practices and show some class.