http://aboutweblogs.com/

I know it may be hard for the “big name” bloggers to grok this, but most people on the internet have never heard of you or of these blog networks.

People will stumble upon blogs as a result of following links or entering terms in search engines. When that happens, it doesn’t matter if you are one of the big 3 or the top 10 or the Fortune 500 of bloggers. All that matters is whether you have something interesting or useful for them.

Is there room?! Dang that makes me laugh!

To be honest, I don’t really think of 9rules as a blog network anymore anyway – perhaps in the early days, but not anymore. I consider 9rules more of a content directory or something like that (I mean this in a positive way).

The more established networks – WIN, Gawker etc I don’t generally have a problem with, they do generally credit original authors. I still don’t like the cross-promotion aspect though. If I’m reading engadget for example, does that mean I’m a target for a post about cancer? To me, it’s exploiting the popularity of one site to raise another. No problem with linking to other sites, but something like Darren does would be more suitable.

I do have a problem with some of the newer ‘networks’ – those that think they are bigger than anyone else, yet are clearly only in it for the money and/or status.

9rules has none of the qualities that you just described. We are only independent sites. So maybe your definition of blog network needs to broaden a bit before you classify all networks under one umbrella.

I currently run 8 sites, some popular, some still in the early stages – they are all ‘unofficially’ part of my own network. I have network homepage, but it’s not linked to anywhere and I’ve never mentioned it (I aborted the plan).

What I have noticed is that blogs lose their value when they become part of a network – the switch from passion to wealth becomes quite apparent. In the eyes of the viewer, blogs within a network don’t hold as much trust as independent sites.

I’ve also found that networks are less likely to credit a competitor, but will quite happily reuse your content. I’ve seen this happen multiple times recently, and sadly one of the members of this new network is guilty of it. I have no problem with healthy competition – I think it benefits everyone in the long run, but the ground has to be fair and a set of unwritten rules abided by.

I personally enjoy reading this site Darren, so I hope you’ll keep this outside of the network :)

Surely there are many segments left without fierce competition but are those segments profitable, probably not lucrative to say the least.

Blognetworks that are starting out should therefore either get high visibility bloggers on their stable or choose the road of original content production, which includes sharp and analytical commentary of linked articles.

Thousands of link blogs mean good business for those that create content. There will be plenty of “blog services” flocking to the same piece of information.

The weakest point of a content linking site is the fact that it can be copied quickly and cut away from the food chain. Someone comes to Darren’s site and checks the latest news and then writes own commentary and presents the link to the original article.

For the rest of us it is very difficult to follow the road of Darren. First he had the advantage of being there right time and putting in the hours. Now he has the name for himself and can monetize that. The rest of us should find our own way.

Yes I use other people’s comments. I don’t hide this and have explained before that my blogs are popular not only with readers because I provide them with links to some of the best reviews on the web on cameras that they want – but with those whose sites I quote and link to.

In fact these sites (including Lets Go Digital who is the site linked to in the post that you link to in comment 44 above) email me daily to tell me about what they are writing hoping that I’ll link to them. They want me to quote them because it means I’m about to send them traffic – considerable traffic.

I always link to my sources and don’t take more than a paragraph or two.

I also provide unique content to my readers by collecting, sorting and presenting a variety of reviews side by side so that they don’t have to wade through the internet looking for the best information.

My method for posting content is fully manual – unlike the majority of spam blogs that you’re referring to. They also randomly post information and don’t collate it into useful forms like I do.

Lastly – Search Engines don’t regard me as Spam. I am in regular contact with people at Google and Yahoo who not only know what I do but who actually have asked to use my blogs as examples to clients of what can be done with their ad systems.

If you’re offended by my approach I’d encourage you to vote with your feet and avoid my sites.

Original content bloggers we need to get this stamped out somehow