I’ve been inspired by this insightful post* from Nicholas Carr to use the “nofollow attribute” when linking to sites I’d prefer not to reward with link love. I really enjoy the way the post displays his deep understanding of how incoming links play a role in web status. I especially like how he is such a student of the nuances of something he declared dead last year.

*<a href=”http://www.roughtype.com/archives/2007/01/is_wikipedia_a.php” rel=”nofollow”>this insightful post</a>

Those funny reporters with math. For example, technology is taking over Americans’ lives makes for a good headline, but there’s little substance or meaning derived when two different sponsored-research projects having nothing to do with one-another are then mashed up together by a reporter drawing a conclusion from the data he imagines is being revealed. Favorite non-finding that makes it into the story: “Report reveals 65% of U.S. consumers are spending more time with their computers than with their significant others.” Okay, here is some more breaking news: We spend 1/3 of our time sleeping. We spend more time at work than we do with bonding with other family members. We use technology to communicate more often with our spouses than we did six years ago (I made that up based on personal research). More people are finding spouses using technology than ever before.

Bottom line: About 65% of the time, when a reporter (or blogger, for that matter) starts off a sentence with, “according to a study released today…” it’s time stop reading and go spend some time with your spouse.

Technorati Tags: statistics

The rexblog magazine trackers started noticing the growing numbers of aspirational lifesytle magazines several years ago so it comes as no surprise that MediaPost says magazines for affluent readers are soaring. At the rexblog, we coined a name for this category in 2003, the Nouveau Niche.

Quote from MediaPost:

“The number of magazines targeting affluent consumers increased fivefold between 1997 and 2007, according to the Standard Periodical Directory released Monday by Oxbridge Communications. From a starting base of 90 titles in 1997, the field grew to 456 by the beginning of 2007. Money talks.”

Observation: Magazines about affluence are not necessarily targeting the affluent. That’s like suggesting celebrity magazines are targeting celebrities.

Technorati Tags: magazines

• Are you in the Circle Of Link Trust? | Search Engine Land
  You get a sort of reputational benefit of the doubt that your new content will be as trustworthy as your existing content has proven to be. Your own content algorithmically vouches for your own new content…agorithmic trust had nothing to do with externa
  (tags: search)
• Bauer to launch Cocktail Weekly in September | Mediaweek.com
  Publisher of First and In Touch plans to launch the magazine for women in their 20s on Sept. 21 with a cover price of $2.49. Content: relationships, fashion, beauty and health. Circ. goal: 500,000 by the end of its first year, mostly newsstand. Eventual
  (tags: magazines vaporzine)