Snoskred - Life in the Country

Technorati has been screwed up for a while. If I used swear words on this blog, I would say this using a different word that begins with F in place of the word screwed.

I hate to say it -

but Technorati, I feel like our relationship is deteriorating, and I think it is time we faced it. The only trouble is, there is nobody like you out there. And it seems some advertisers believe in you. I have lost faith in you myself. I think you’re cheating on me. Seeing other blogs. Sleeping around like a cheap sheet in a dodgy motel. Lying to me! Please, get yourself together before it is too late for us.

Favourite Nightmare -

Currently there is no way for me to add any new favourites. I have over 200, and apparently this means I am a demon from hell and should not be allowed to have any more favourites. Or something like that. And I am not alone - Andy Beard wrote Technorati Favorites - Interesting New Message. I am now able to delete favourites but still cannot add any.

Changes?

There may be changes afoot. On the 16th of August the CEO Dave Sifry quit, and also fired about 8 staff. You can read his goodbye post on the Technorati blog here - A Change In Seasons - and also a couple of interesting reactions to it - Technorati Loses A “Great Leader.” PodTech Also Loses CEO and Technorati Update: Time To Freak Out?

What Does This Mean?

Hopefully it will mean a better Technorati for all of us, but there is a LOT of work to do before that happens. Many people have been experiencing problems with pings. A lot of people feel they cannot use Technorati to read blogs anymore because it is very unreliable.

Some people have given up on it completely because it was increasing their page load times on a regular basis - and that is fair enough, too. People have often reported having trouble getting any kind of technical support, though this may have been fixed recently.

When Will It Be Fixed?

I guess the biggest question is - how long are we all expected to just hang in there while they try to sort things out? Just 7 days ago Andy Beard posted about some of the issues he had spotted over there, and these are not just small things. Technorati Topics Announced & Bugs. Do make sure to read that one - you’ll see a blog there called automattic which is not a blog at all, yet it has a Technorati authority of over 14,000. How can that be fair?

Your Blog Is Important -

It is important to you, and important to your readers. It does not seem to be so important to Technorati. My advice to anyone reading this? Don’t become reliant on Technorati for anything.

Don’t Use It To Read Blogs -

Some of the blogs in my favourites list say they have not been updated in over 100 days or so, and yet those bloggers are still blogging, still writing, and I am getting their posts in Google Reader.

No feed reader is perfect but you should expect feeds to show up within 30 minutes to 6 hours if you’re using feedburner. 100 days is a different century in net time. Use Google Reader or Bloglines or some other feed reader to get your blog fixes. Don’t rely on Technorati for this. You will be disappointed if you do.

Consider Removing Their Widgets -

This is what I have seen a couple of times lately - One time I was willing to overlook, two times seemed like carelessness but I was still willing to forgive. Three times, you’re off my sidebar. I’m sorry to everyone who is listed in my favourites. I know often people clicked on those posts but I can’t afford to have something non working on my sidebar like that. When I remove a widget it is rarely ever likely to make a comeback, so Technorati you’ve done your dash there.

Google Search Is Better -

I’ll also take off the search box because I found it quite unreliable. I have found a way to put a Google Search Box on my blog instead. You can do the same because Sephy tells you how to install a Google Search Box onto your blog. I highly recommend that you do it - this will make it easier for your readers to find what they are looking for.

That Only Leaves -

Giving people the ability to fave your blog on Technorati. Which is fine, if they are *able* to add people to their favourites. If you want to give people the option to do that, why not check out this post from The Random Forest for a lovely icon which I just installed in my sidebar - Free for all, two new Technorati icons - much nicer looking than the Technorati ones as you see below. You can click on this one to fave my blog.

Regularly visit Technorati and ping your blog manually. This is a simple and easy thing to do. It is one way to make sure your blog is up to date. How do you do it?

Visit Technorati’s Ping Form.

If you are logged into Technorati you will see your blogs there.

Either click on the ping next to your blog name, or enter in the URL of the blog you want pinged - the second is handy if you want to ping the blog of a friend.

I Feel Sad -

For all the staff who work there and believe in what they are doing. I don’t know what is going wrong there. I don’t want to know what is going wrong there. I want someone to fix it. I want Technorati to be working at the full potential I think it is capable of, and I think all bloggers would agree with that.

But -

We have blogs to run as well, and we cannot afford to sit back and be patient while widgets don’t work, while we can’t add people to our favourites, while this service is used as a way to rate bloggers yet at the same time it is giving incorrect ratings to blogs that don’t exist!

Previous Tuesday Think Tanks -

Do NOT Rely On Your Site Meter
Track Your Visitors with Google Analytics

14 Reasons Readers Unsubscribe From Your Blog
Tuesday Think Tank: All About RSS

Demystifying Blogger Template Editing
Blog Design - Open Your Eyes

Say No! to Nofollow
Spam, Spiders And Do Follow, Oh My!

Stumble It -

If you liked this post, be sure to give it a stumble.

Check Sephy Out -

Sephy has a companion post to this, which you can read here - The Ups (and Downs) of Technorati - this covers blog authority, rank and reactions and how they change as well as some other useful stuff.

Make A Request -

This week’s Tuesday Think Tank came as the result of a request from Julie, who had some questions about Technorati and why her ranking has been changing recently. If you have something you want to have covered in a future Tuesday Think Tank, we always are willing to take suggestions; all you need to do is send an email to either myself or to Sephy, and we will tackle your topic on a future Tuesday.

Over To You -

How do you feel about Technorati? Are you ready to break up and move on with your life? Will you stick it out a little longer? Are you going to remove some of their widgets? What have you been using it for, is that still working or have you had to look for other options?

Do you have a blog topic you’d like to know more about? Simply mention it in the comments.