Disqus Lets You Profit From Comments on Other Blogs and Grabs Some SEO For Themselves

DisqusHave you ever been stuck wondering what to post on your blog? Can't seem to find a topic that suits the current situation? Well a new feature called "Reblogging" launched today by comment replacement service Disqus could help quench your thirst for a great post!

The Disqus reblogging feature allows you to easily click a button on any comment left on a blog using the Disqus service and post it as a full post on your blog. You can basically lift a comment from X blog and place it on your blog! So when you are stuck for a topic, just go to a popular blog that receives a lot of comments, click "Reblog" and bam... instant post.

While the concept of Reblogging works on a service like Tumblr, I just don't see it as a value-add here. Who benefits from the Reblog process?

  • The blog publishing the comment gets a juicy bit of content (that's not in a script code)
  • The source blog receives a seo-rich link back to the source - this is a great way to up inbound counts
  • Disqus benefits as a seo-rich link back to Disqus travels with the Reblogged content
  • Disqus also adds a link back to the commenter's profile on Disqus
  • The original commenter who spent time formulating the comment gets nothing

Just like I called out Disqus for "borrowing" traffic earlier this year, I am again calling them out (and understand I like Daniel and think he is a very bright guy!). Add a link back to the comment author's blog instead of his/her Disqus profile. Then the service becomes more of a value to everyone and might be more beneficial to the community at large. I'd also wonder if Disqus users need to opt-in to this program - when I comment on X blog, do I automatically grant any blog or source with the ability to lift my comment and do as they please? What happens to context - it could easily be meaningless outside of the source discussion. We already see this happening when Disqus comments are posted on FriendFeed - the context is completely missing. This Reblogging feature could lead to some great discussions around comment portability and usage. Maybe we need a licensing model for comments.

In a perfect situation, the only links that would be listed are to the source blog where the comment was posted and a link to the commenter's blog.

This new Disqus Reblog feature currently works on the Wordpress, Movable Type, TypePad, and Tumblr platforms.

Here's Disqus founder Daniel Ha's screencast of how the reblog process works. I hope there's an opt-out button - I have no desire to participate with regards to this new feature.


More CN Coverage:
-- Docstoc
-- Scribd
-- Twitter

Add a comment Cancel & reply to article ›

Inappropriate or promotional comments may be removed. To create a clickable link, simply type the URL (including http://) and we will make a link for you. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br> tags, but if you're into that kind of thing, you can use any of the following tags: b, i, strong, em, a (href only), p and br.

Click one of the three commenter types below. Member comments are added immediately once you confirm your email address. Anonymous comments are moderated by our editorial staff.

Email Me
  
Comment Preview
Avatar
Anonymous (9:28 AM on Fri Mar 12, 2010)

Preview your comment here.