The Columnist Manifesto

From what I can tell about Blogshares, one way a blog gains valuation is by having other blogs link to it (not unlike the Ecosystem). The twist seems to be that you get more value from a link with its own high value than you get from a meaningless link, like you would get from those blogs whose sole job is to raise the page rank of other pages.

In other words, one way to raise the value of a blog on Blogshares is to raise the value of the blogs that link to it. This might be why Security Commander Wyatt is buying up UW Law blogs: they are the blogs that link to his own blog, either currently or prospectively.

It turns out my little corner of cyberspace is about 50% owned by One Blue Sun, Inc.
 

Blogshares is also not entirely accurate in its link accounting. For example, my friend Angry Pregnant Lawyer is ranked so highly because the top link to her site is the valuable Geeky Mom. According to Blogshares, Geeky Mom only has 6 outgoing links, one of which is to Angry Pregnant Lawyer. But in fact, Geeky Mom has a MASSIVE blogroll that includes all and sundry, including me.

Not that I'm bitter about being undervalued or anything...
 

Although T. Boone Pickens would be a sweeeeeet nickname, I do read the blogs I buy up. My motivation for buying them is pure, old-fashioned greed. You buy up an undervalued stock, driving the price up as you go. Then you sell it off little by little, as public demand rises. Then, at the key moment, you dump your shares and rake in the money.