Blogebrity…
The recent ’state of the blogosphere’ report from Technorati’s David Sifry has ruffled a few feathers because of the inclusion of a new semi-scientific ranking system to group bloggers into four distinct groups. Let’s call them A-D. (Aside: find out where you stand using this handy tool)
The report describes the four groups thus:
The Low Authority Group (3-9 blogs linking in the last 6 months)
The average blog age (the number of days that the blog has been in existence) is about 228 days, which shows a real commitment to blogging. However, bloggers of this type average only 12 posts per month, meaning that their posting habits are generally dedicated but infrequent.
The Middle Authority Group (10-99 blogs linking in the last 6 months)
This contrasts somewhat with the second group, which enjoys an average age not much older than the first at 260 days and which posts 50% more frequently than the first. There is a clear correlation between posting volume and Technorati authority ranking.
The High Authority Group (100-499 blogs linking in the last 6 months)
The third group represents a decided shift in blog age while not blogging much more frequently than the last. In keeping with the theme of the maturation of the blogosphere, it seems evident that many of these bloggers were previously in category two and have grown in authority organically over time. In other words, sheer dedication pays off over time.
The Very High Authority Group (500 or more blogs linking in the last 6 months)
In the final group we see what might be considered the blogging elite. This group, which represents more than 4,000 blogs, exhibits a radical shift in post frequency as well as blog age. Bloggers of this type have been at it longer – a year and a half on average – and post nearly twice a day, an increase in posting volume of over 100% from the previous group…
As Amy Gahran points out, the problem here is the word ‘authority’ when what is really being counted is the number of times these blogs are linked to. As she notes, a blog with a tiny audience and very few links might be extraordinarily influential in the niche it covers. Amy suggests that ‘popularity’ might be a better word. I’d go one further and suggest ‘linkability’ is perhaps equally apt. Drew Curtis’ Fark.com is very highly linked-to, but it couldn’t really be described as influential.