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diff --git a/old/published/Webmonkey/Monkey_Bites/2007/01.29.07/Thu/technorati.txt b/old/published/Webmonkey/Monkey_Bites/2007/01.29.07/Thu/technorati.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..045a461 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/published/Webmonkey/Monkey_Bites/2007/01.29.07/Thu/technorati.txt @@ -0,0 +1,21 @@ +[Technorati][2] launched a new [search annotation feature][1] yesterday that allows logged in users to annotate and explain popular search terms. The new features is called "WTF" though in this case the popular acronym has been re-branded to the more family-oriented phrase, "Where's the Fire?" + +The idea behind WTF is that popular search terms often leave the uninitiated asking "why is this being talked about right now?" WTF lets the community explain themselves with short posts which then show up at the top of popular Technorati searches (screenshots after the jump). + +Niall Kennedy, a former Technorati employee, [explains][3] the new service succinctly on his blog: + +>Technorati WTF is a mini-blog post aimed at a specific audience. Bloggers who used to try and summarize the top search results on their own blog and attract the attention of searchers can now add a note and possibly gain a reputation directly on the Technorati search result page. + +Any given term can have unlimited WTFs written for it and the top WTF is based on votes from other users. There aren't really enough WTFs at this point to judge how well Technorati's voting algorithm is, but the WTF for WTF (natch) claims that Technorati uses "a special time weighted voting system that means that the most popular recent WTFs will show up on top of the page." + +WTF holds a fairly high potential for driving traffic to your blog. For instance, if you create a term that gets some buzz, so to speak, you can write up a WTF and link to your explanation. If the community votes your WTF to the top of the heap, you'll have top billing on Technorati regardless of the rank of your blog. + +The outbound links on WTF pages have "nofollow" tags so getting your site a link in WTF isn't going to help your PageRank, but it will likely drive a fair bit of traffic. + +Of course, because of that potential, WTF seems like it's just waiting to be abused. For instance, what if company A writes a WTF about company B alleging that the later sacrifices babies under the full moon? Unless company B is on the ball and monitoring WTF, the misleading post may well be the only entry for company B. + +Of course the Technorati community can also keep abuse in check, but if WTF turns into a constant editing battle it might well lose its appeal. + +[1]: http://technorati.com/wtf/ "technorati WTF" +[2]: http://technorati.com/ "technorati" +[3]: http://www.niallkennedy.com/blog/archives/2007/01/technorati-wtf.html "Technorati WTF annotates keyword search results"
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