Some bloggers hate to link outside their own site, under the belief that it drives visitors away. Others will link, but only to “friendly” sites that agree with the author.
In steps Walter Olson, of Overlawyered fame, displaying once again why he is a master blogger; Linking directly to someone who criticizes him.
In his July 26th round-up you will find this little note:
- An injury lawyer reads and reacts to my first book, The Litigation Explosion [Alan Crede]
Now most folks don’t know who Alan Crede is, as he is a relative newcomer to the legal blogosphere. But the cite Olson gives is to an exceptional post on the poverty of new ideas in the tort “reform” movement, of which Olson has been a pretty big player for awhile.
But whereas most bloggers would ignore such criticism, or silently fume, Olson links to it, showing the other side of the coin to consider. Crede’s points may be good, or not, but it is for the reader to decide.
Not too shabby. And a damn good lesson for new bloggers trying to understand how the blogosphere works in its many interlocking ways. Good bloggers don’t view the visitor as a one-shot deal, but as a recurring reader. If you write well and provide quality links when deserved, the readers come back. Google made its fortune, its worth noting, by sending people away from its site.
Take note also that Crede “gets it” with respect to blogging, as he likewise linked to Olson’s sites at Overlawyered and Point of Law (though Olson has now moved from PoL to Cato).
Thank you for those very generous words. But there is the alternative theory that I am simply so egotistical that I can’t resist linking to things about me.
Walter: While I may disagree with you on many things, I’ve certainly learned a hell of a lot from reading your blogs.
Exactly. Think of it as a customer service issue. If your visitors are interested enough in your blog to read it, chances are they’ll be interested in reading what other people are saying about the same topic. It’s always good to be a place where visitors can go to find links to interesting reading.
One of the reasons that I respect this blog is that Eric is one of the few personal injury attorneys who accepts dissent on his blog. On most other such blogs the comments either all agree or are so ridiculous as to bolster the blog’s point of view
But does Mr. Olson address the criticisms brought up in the linked post?
(I confess that I am perpetually baffled at ostensible defenders of the free market condemning a contingency-fee system; there seems no real reason for such criticism other than the fact that it helps poor people get lawyers and sue their betters.)
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