Link, link, and link some more

While talking about why he’s not afraid of AOL weblogs, Charles Miller points out something that I have the hardest time remembering, though it should be obvious to me:

On blogs, such behaviour [an AOLish “Me Too!”] is de rigeur because you don’t assume that your readers read the same sites as you, so passing on links (even without comment) is a vital way to spread the ideas you feel are worth spreading.

All evidence to the contrary, when I don’t think about it I just assume that anyone who reads me also reads most of the people I read. When I really think about individuals, I know probably a dozen people offhand who read me but not Charles, and may or may not have some other two or three degree route to him. Even linkdumps, which seem at first glance to only serve as personal bookmarks and fodder for Google and Technorati, can be just what one reader wants: some of my favorite links, and favorite posts, have started in someone’s linkdump.

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