Don’t Settle on Trackbacks Alone
July 10th, 2008By Susan Iskiwitch
Yesterday, one of my Standing colleagues called me into her office to explain trackbacks as one of her contacts was insisting it was THE tool for engaging in and monitoring online conversation (as if there is one tool that trumps all others – social media is an amalgamation).
I might be stating the obvious, but here’s where I state my claim that trackbacks (and other linkbacks) are not the be-all, end-all in blog networking and monitoring (in fact, when I try to explain them, they sound prehistoric – if anyone has a nice video they can share that helps explain linkbacks, I’d be grateful).
I will say that trackbacks and pingbacks have been a great tool in establishing a blogging community network, by creating an interconnected blogging network full of acknowledgement and camaraderie; however, in the time-saving and cost-cutting world that we live in, let the people who desire to know the conversation going on about them find it – through Technorati and other blog search engines that monitor simple keywords and hyperlinking – rather than insisting that the trackback notify them of any conversation.
Monitoring the conversation is important for any business or brand (and it is an essential part of what we, as communications practitioners, practice each day). While trackbacks (and the other forms of linkbacks) allow blogger A to notify blogger B that blogger B’s content is being referenced, it should not be the only method for acknowledgement or monitoring.
July 10th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
So, I still don’t totally know what exactly a trackback is and how are you notified if it is used?
July 10th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
abunslife: A trackback is a way to let a blogger know when another blogger has commented on one of his or her posts. It’s a way for the original blogger to remain in the conversation when it happens elsewhere. I don’t think it’s the best way to monitor the conversation; I know that I don’t use them often (instead, I hope that original bloggers are monitoring the conversation on their own).
July 10th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
For our clients we stopped using trackbacks about a year and a half ago. There are other ways to monitor conversation flow, and you don’t need to deal with the spam.
July 11th, 2008 at 9:27 am
I agree they are not the only method, but trackbacks can be an important part of talking with bloggers.
If you post a trackback that appears on another blog, when a reader is reading the blog, they will then know that another blog commented on the original post. Conversation is not just on the blog, but also a wider discussion on other blogs. As Josh suggests, anyone can use freely available tools for tracking related post, but personally I would not turn off trackbacks. Any blogger will probably track what’s said about their posts. Yes, there is less management if you don’t use them, but by turning them off you may be reducing the chance for a richer experience for your readers.