Eric

Reno, Nevada, UNITED STATES


Joined November 14th 2006

Number of Posts:
48

Number of Comments:
191

Karma:
4



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8 Post(s)
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Recent Posts

Vacuum The Carpets With Your Feet!

December 20th 2006 07:03
Vacuum Shoes


Electrolux vacuums created a tasty pair of shoes that will not only have the retro fans drooling, they'll also clean your carpet.

That's right, the new Electrolux Vacuum shoes are still in testing phase, but reports say they'll be going to production soon.

What better way to clean the house than to strap on these foot gadgets and scoot along as you walk. Spill an ash tray? Just scuff it out.

Man I wish these bad boys were on the market now. Can I get them in blue?
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Oh boy! It's Christmas season, I'm moving to another state, and I've got a handful of new blogs to try and manage. Needless to say, my plate is LOADED!

This blog, Technology Bloggers, was moved to my account a week or two ago and until today I honestly had no idea what to do with it. This morning I decided I would launch the blog with a simple focus so I don't really have to spend a lot of time here. SEOGoggles, and MalGadget will keep me busy enough as it is.

The plan is to make this the new home for the weekly Technology Bloggers Digest post, along with technology blogger job openings. I track blogger job openings on a daily basis so I figure I should be able to make a few posts per week detailing my discoveries.

It's going to be a slow start due to the season, but in January I'll step it up a notch.

Stay tuned!


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Greedy Orblers


I should start off by saying that I believe this post may very well offend a couple of Orblers, and if that is the case then I apologize. I in no way mean for this post to be directed at any one person here on Orble and it is in no way personal. This post is merely my opinion on a form of "gaming", or cheating the system that seems to be rampant around here.

Secondly, I'm not moaning to get my own stories ranked well because I can do that on my own, and without using sneaky methods to keep them in the top ten.

All I wish to do is assert that there are some comment practices being used to game the system and it's as obvious as it gets that it's going on.

Let's get right to it...

I normally don't get in a fuss over petty things like this, but my being offended over it has now held me back from commenting on several posts that I felt were well worth commenting on simply because of the quality of the post. And it continues to happen.

Basically, I refuse to comment on a post where the author seems to think no one else will be bothered by their multiple comment posting, when only one comment is needed.

What I mean by this, and I'm not going to post any examples, is that a few Orble bloggers will reply to five or more comments using one comment per reply. This means that instead of the author using one post to reply to the recent comments, the author is posting one comment in response to each comment listed.

What does this do? Well, in short, it cheats the system and keeps a top ten post spot locked up and sealed off until the time period runs out and the "gamed" post falls off naturally.

Why? Simple. If a comment that you post on your blog is worth two votes, then why not give yourself 20 votes every time you need to reply on your blog right? I mean... who wants two votes when you could have 10 times that without anyone else's help?

In fact, I think Orble is the only place where I've seen this allowed. Multiple posting on forums like DigitalPoint and others will warn you for it and then ban you if it continues. Overall it's considered to be a very selfish practice and most online communities look down on this sort of thing.

Why does it bother ME so much? Because it means the system is not working on a level playing field. A post does not get to the top ten list because the readers want it to. No, the post is getting there because the AUTHOR wants it to. That in itself flies in the face of the community based structure that is taking the web by storm.

Now I'm not suggesting that those of you who do this are doing it just to beat everyone else off the top ten list, but it does raise questions as to how much concern you have for other posts that possibly deserve to be in that spot. It's also quite possible that some of you don't even realize what you're doing, but that doesn't change the fact.

Finally, it's logical to assume that this "back door" in the ranking system will eventually be exploited by money hungry web gurus who couldn't care less about you, me, and the credibility of Orble.

In my opinion, Orblers should begin looking down on this practice. I know, I know... it's an easier way to respond to all those different comments. But the fact remains that when you do this it games the system into thinking the post is better simply because it has more comments.

We've got some really good bloggers around here, some are even tech friends of mine here on Orble, and they can't seem to break the ice and get a post out there for all to see. I think we should be giving everyone a fair shake.

Gaming the system, whether you mean to or not, simply isn't cool.

-Eric


EDIT: Please know that I'm looking at this from a technical standpoint. I hope you'll understand that people see things from different viewpoints. With this post, I'm just saying that I notice something that I'm sure future Orblers will notice as well.

Also, as Jon points out below, this isn't necessarily about multiple posts being a bad thing, because they aren't. In fact, you should be able to comment all you want. But if this is going to be allowed then perhaps the voting system could be tweaked so it doesn't change the outcome of the post rank.

This is simply my opinion. Nothing more.


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Is Technorati Broken?

December 6th 2006 21:52
Technorati


I would almost be willing to bet a months worth of income that Technorati is having some serious issues maintaining the growth of the blogosphere and the size of its index


[ Click here to read more ]
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Mal Gadget Under New Management

December 4th 2006 03:13
Thanks to Jasmine, Jon, and the Orble crew I've been handed the reigns of two more Orble blogs. Mal Gadget, SEO Goggles, and Technology Bloggers are now my toys and I can't wait to play. Unfortunately, it's going to be a few more days before I can really dig in and make some changes for the better (I hope).

This blog will be dedicated to gadgets and other cool web finds, with SEO Googles being an internet marketing/business/SEO blog. I'm still not sure what to do with Technology Bloggers but I'm sure I'll think of something


[ Click here to read more ]
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Do you blog too much?

December 4th 2006 02:40
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Britney Spears Ad


Britney Spears and her recent rampage of obscenity seems to be gaining ground in about every realm of the internet as of late. It all began with her sluttiness getting the better of her in a decision to give paparazzi a few snaps of her pantyless crotch. It was a move that will probably drag her down into a pit of rehab and media bashing, but one that also has internet advertisers chomping at the bits


[ Click here to read more ]
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MATURE CONTENT
   


Weekly Orble Tech Digest :: December 2

December 2nd 2006 20:39
Weekly Orble Tech Digest


I'm a day late this week, but I always believed the whole "better late than never" mantra... so here goes


[ Click here to read more ]
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Yahoo to Google: Stuff It!

December 2nd 2006 19:12
Yahoo and Google


Google likes to step on toes. The leading search engine has been known some time now as the new "evil" company, and a recent attempt to bitch slap Yahoo, Amazon, and Microsoft leaves little room for question on the level of evil the company portrays


[ Click here to read more ]
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Recent Comments

Comment by Eric
on Blogrolls

December 18th 2006 09:36
Very, VERY cool feature, Jon!

Comment by Eric
on Very Orble

December 9th 2006 10:40
Reminds me of the smurfs. Only Orble.

Comment by Eric
on My First Orble Pet Peeve :: Multiple Comments

December 8th 2006 05:03
I'll drink to the most recent idea listed here.

I do see a lot of tension going on around Orble, but I think it's just growing pains to be quite honest. Orble is quickly becoming a very big network and these kinds of things need to be hashed out before it gets two or three times bigger.

In my opinion anyway.

Comment by Eric
on Open Orble Blogs

December 7th 2006 02:27
I'll gladly contribute to gadgets.

Comment by Eric
on My First Orble Pet Peeve :: Multiple Comments

December 7th 2006 02:24
"I've had a few posts go into the popular posts page simply because me and another high-karma blogger had a chat conversation on my comments. You're right, Eric, that's not really a fair shake."

I've only been here for three weeks and that has already happened. No, it isn't right when you really think about it.

"Actually, I'd suggest that the owner of the site doesn't contribute any ratings to the post, beyond the initial submission."

Personally, I'd be perfectly OK with that as well. But I have no idea what all goes into the ALGO so there may be better alternatives. It'll be interesting to see what Jon is thinking.

Comment by Eric
on My First Orble Pet Peeve :: Multiple Comments

December 7th 2006 02:19
"I reply to each comment individually, and did so before I knew that it affected the vote number. I just see it as a sign of respect to other Orblers, and I feel that it allows me to have a dialogue with the individual. Lumping them up, despite replying to each person, just feels somewhat impersonal to me."

And a lot of people do it for those reasons. That's perfectly OK. Unfortunately not everyone has that halo over their head, but life goes on.

I think, from what I'm reading, that the majority of Orblers would be perfectly OK with these tweaks being made. Am I wrong?

If so, please tell me why.

Comment by Eric
on My First Orble Pet Peeve :: Multiple Comments

December 7th 2006 02:04
Kylie,

Thank you for looking at this from "outside the box". I think your comment is spot on and you did a much better job of getting the point across than I did.

Thanks for stopping by.

Eric

Comment by Eric
on World Art - Russia and my Art, too

December 7th 2006 01:55
First of all, for some reason I like these more than any others I've seen on your blog. What does that say about me? lol, am I a bad person?

Secondly, and a little off topic, I just wanted to apologize for the way my "pet peeve" post came across (you'll also find I was a tad feisty with my reply to your comment). I honestly didn't mean for it to be taken the way you took it. I'm looking at things from a technical standpoint, not a personal view. I write generally for people who look at things from a technical aspect when it comes to my tech blogs.

I hope we can agree that you and I are two very different people and move on. You can't expect me to be like you, nor can I expect you to be like me.

Life is still good though and it must go on.

Comment by Eric
on Your own Adsense Account

December 7th 2006 01:46
Jon is far more expert than I am and I'm sure he would have checked it all out beforehand. You should be good to go!

Blog away!!!

Comment by Eric
on My First Orble Pet Peeve :: Multiple Comments

December 7th 2006 01:39
"Oh and look! You did make the popular list, didn't you? "

LOL! Honestly, I had no doubts on that. In fact, I'm confident I could make the top ten list every day if I actually took the time to make it happen, but that isn't the point here is it?

I just wish the ALGO was simplified because I see loopholes and exploits and that can take the fun away for certain people such as myself.