This is a list of the top ten postings as measured by links. It can always be at the top of the blog as a navigation tool. Please vote below.
Top Ten Postings
Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!
About the Author: Guy Kawasaki
Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist of Canva, an online graphic design tool. Formerly, he was an advisor to the Motorola business unit of Google and chief evangelist of Apple. He is also the author of The Art of Social Media, The Art of the Start, APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur, Enchantment, and nine other books. Kawasaki has a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from UCLA as well as an honorary doctorate from Babson College.
Related Posts
Guy,
If you decide to leave this on your blog I think it should be in the side navigation. I think it would take up too much real estate up top, which makes the fresh content harder to get at.
**********************
Cameron,
I’m just not sure that people will see it in the siderail, but yes, I could put it there.
Thanks!
Guy
I would not put it. You already have too much stuff on your blog. You should remove some of the stuff on the right side of your blog such as “graping void”.
Guy,
I agree with Cameron. I think a heading, on the side, that reads “Guy’s Top 10 Lists”. Or, if you do put it at the top of the blog, then it should probably expand when clicked on.
I’d put it on the side bar Guy… somewhere near the top. Love your blog by the way.
If you want to fill up the entire front page (well, this is as “front” as you get on the web) with stale information, why don’t you put up a big advertisement there instead?
At least you’ll make some moolah before the traffic dies down.
I would recommend that you either:
a) put it as a box in the sidebar but that’s too crowded
b) Use a moving ticker (or cycle a block of text) under the “Blogger. n. Someone with nothing to say writing for someone with nothing to do.”
c) Use a block (div tag) in your top post, with the text flowing around it. In this block are your top 10.
What say? I think I shall do b) on another site.
Top Guy. Read it all!
If ever to make a link-to blog then that’s the case. Guy has published top ten posts from his blog. I wish I read it all as far in the past as possible. The essence of pragmatism and the best
Hi,
I am big fan of yours, but i think i agree with others that your blog already has too much information on the sidebar. Either clean not popular stuff from there or dont add anything else (-;
Some interesting fact about your blog: Out of the top 10 entries, there is no post from the last two months. But even more interesting, only 20% belongs to the last 5 months and 60% were written in December or January. From data’s perspective your content seems to get less interesting… and I do agree with it. I put your blog from my daily visit list to the weekly one. Please start writing quality posts again and forget about all the “pro-blogging-****”. Its so useless as well as a top 10 list on top of your main page. Keep in mind, that long lasting top 10 blogs have continously good content and usually a sleek interface (hint: clean up your sidebar!)
*********************
Interesting comments. Some thoughts:
– The older posts have had more time to collect links so they should have more links.
– It’s true that I was working off a backlog of material when I started. I don’t have that backlog now. It is harder to write entries.
– I’d love to see what you consider a blog that’s worth visiting daily that’s of the essay type. Not Engadget, Boing Boing, Gizmodo, Tech Crunch, but a blog where the person is writing a heavy-content, long entry every day. I don’t think it can be done.
– Also, I’d love to learn what topics you think I should cover that I haven’t. I can only write about PowerPoint so much.
Thanks,
Guy
Is this a community action thing? I’d put it in the sidebar.
Guy, just about half way through “driving your competition crazy” and really enjoying it. is there a new edition though – there’s a part in there that’s rooted in the mid 90’s: “if you are aware of the internet”!
Ed
Hi Guy,
chiming in late, I’d love to see it somewhere in the sidebar, not in the posting-space.
I’d have to scroll down to see if there is a new post, you know. ;-)
Keep up the good work
Erik
Guy,
I agree about the sidebar – too cluttered.
As for the content, you sort of lost me when you started meta-blogging. To be honest, I’m not interested in the A-list bloggers talking about blogging or talking about talking about blogging or Technorati or any of that stuff.
I was interested in your posts about business. Tell us some more details of your lessons learned! Tell us the things you saw working well/not working well when you worked for companies – both what you saw at the time, and the way you see it now with the benefit of experience and hindsight. Tales from the middle – not the top, maybe?
I’m re-invigorating all my work with the best “hide” scripts I can find … that seems to be the central kernel of the “Web2.0” experience; it’d be nice to peek the Top 10 without breaking stride too substantially.
p.s. thanks for introducing me to “Gaping Void”!
I’ll try to say this without rambling too much…
First – I think that doing a top ten list of entries could be beneficial. As far as where it goes and how it looks, I’ll let the visual designers give you the guidance.
Second – I think that basing your top ten on number of links isn’t the best approach.
Now to hopefully clarify / elaborate…
For the purpose of simplifying, let’s assume that there are two types of visitors out there… first time and repeat.
Top Ten’s should first target the new visitors by giving them direct access to the posts that give them the meat of what this blog is about and what they could learn or why they would benefit by coming back and reading on a daily / weekly cycle. It should enable them to gain the most knowledge in the fewest clicks. This enables that “deep dive” into the site so that they get hooked on what you have to say… and come back as time permits to see the current stuff as well as do some more diving. This also helps in the “newer repeat visitors” that didn’t start reading on Jan 1, 2006.
Now, “repeat” visitors may well be served by a “My most popular posts” section. As it will point out items that they possibly missed, or didn’t fully appreciate the first time.
For a real blogworld example, I think the setup at Problogger.net is pretty good. The first time I found the site, I spent some time hitting posts from the top menu choices. It gave me a quick idea of what was going on, the type of information I could expect and feel like I was “caught up”.
With that being said, I’ll go back to why the number of links may not be the best “filter”… Because what gets links may not be indicative of what the blog is about. Your list is a perfect example… The number 1 item is about PowerPoint presentations. It’s a useful post as it serves as a reminder to not make your ppt’s eyecharts… but it isn’t core to how to start a biz, how to fund the biz, how to market the biz, etc…
Now, to really drive this home… ask yourself…
What is this blog about?
What posts (or category of posts) do I have that I want people to read so that they know what this blog is about?
What posts / categories give the greatest knowledge so that the reader can learn and implement?
Identify the answers and then provide links to them.
Finally, when you are done asking those, ask these…
What is this blog about?
Who are my target readers?
Why would someone read this?
How is this going to help the reader?
What are my readers going through?
What knowledge or thoughts do I have that would help the reader?
And, as Kathy would say… how can my readers kick ass?
Good luck.
Graydon
Marlin Creek – Idea Seeds
http://marlincreek.com
Ahh the double hockey sticks… looks like I rambled. Also, one correction, you started blogging on Dec 30, 2005 and not Jan 1, 2006.
Which points out one additional thing… no matter what you do with the linking decision, at least link to your post “A Brief History of Mine” under your picture (above the email me link)… that post goes a long way in filling in new readers.
How about getting back on track with focusing on the content you write, which is interesting, as opposed to your ridiculous quest for fame amongst bloggers, which is kinda like watching that 41-year-old guy hanging out in a after-hours club talking to 19-year-old girls about the first time he saw Simon LeBon live in concert.
***************************
Skeptic,
I doubt that anything I could do would make you happy. FYI, my content would not change whether I’m on this perceived quest for blogger fame.
Also, I’m 52, I don’t go to after-hours, before-hours, and during-hours clubs, I hardly ever talk to 19 year old girls (though they sometimes confuse me with Jackie Chan), and I don’t know who Simon LeBon is.
Guy
I would like this, but not at the top of the blog. Put it on the side or something.
You have an unusual blog in that you occasionally provide information that is actionable. Most of the posts that are in the top ten are essentially reference posts, and if you are doing real work on starting a business, you would want to read these a few time. Put them somewhere that they are easisly accessable.
I’d like you to stay with the present. People will find the top 10 eventually if they are reading you, courtesy of links or whatever.
Glenn.
Guy,
Definitely. It has to ALWAYS be at the top of your blog NOT for navigation purpose but for marketing purpose. Sure, one of your noble goal is to change people lives ( hey, you changed mine). But your HEALTHY obsession on ranking and making a blog “for the rest of us” will definitely benefit from it. Here is why: all the people who are regularly visiting your blog are already converted. They will forgive less inspired posts and will come back tomorrow to quench their thirst. People who do not know you yet have to be thrilled from the start or they’ll never come back. They need to read the best of Guy NOW. If I don’t know you I won’t forgive a lousy post. There are thousands of blogs outthere that are craving for my attention. Plus, we’re all lazy. If you don’t show me the jewels now, don’t expect me to dig into your blog and find them. Don’t worry about your “old” hardcore fans. Most of us are on RSS feed anyway. I understand your concerns about the sidebar. If you put your top 10 there, some of your readers will see it. Some of them won’t. Bottom line: posting your top 10 at the top will expose new readers to your most beautiful gems and make them into evangelists. Only Evangelists will bring this blog right to the top. Keep polarizing people :))
Cheers