Heidelberger Tinkers with BlogNetNews.com

A couple weeks ago, while checking my BlogNetNews.com Influence Ranking (a statistic I still hold is utterly bogus... although with Governor Rounds advocating income tax for farmers and wind turbine owners, maybe I really am having some influence!), I noticed an unfamiliar name among the usual SD suspects, "Say Anything." Eager to welcome a new neighbor, I clicked. Neighbor indeed -- Say Anything is a North Dakota blog.

I get picky about little things. If you're going to run a South Dakota bloggregator, you ought to make sure it's all South Dakota. So I e-mail David Mastio, the BlogNetNews boss, and point out "Say Anything" ought not be on the list.

Mastio e-mails back, says he's been busy, recognizes the mistake, fixes it. And then he asks (and I can only imagine a prefatory, "O.K., wise guy, if you're so smart,") if I'd like to edit his South Dakota page for him.

I ask what's involved. He says maybe an hour or two a week of monitoring blogs (I already do that every day over breakfast), updating the feed list, and other administrivia. I get a Madville Times link at the top of the BNN SD page, but I don't get a look at the BlogNetNews influence formula. When the bloggregator starts turning a profit, I get a sliver of the revenue, though given the small South Dakota audience, we're talking French fries, not Ferraris.

Sucker that I am for low-wage work, I said, "Why not?"

Now Mastio emphasized that BNN is a non-partisan venture. He's an old Bush speechwriter, but he's not out to spotlight conservative voices. Likewise, it's not my job to move Todd and Doug to the top of the list or banish Bob from the feed. So we can play honest pool, here are the BNN guidelines I've received:

1. To be added, blogs should be at least 90 days old, mostly original, and mostly on-topic (politics, South Dakota... but expect a broad interpretation).
2. Blogs that don't make the cut: official blogs of single-issue organizations, industry groups, political action committees, etc. "Kookburgers" also get no play.
   
3. To be deleted, a blog must stand idle for 60-90 days, go way off-topic, post porn (watch those license-plate and sex ed postings! ;-) ), or post spam ads.

Any questions? You know where to find me! Keep on blogging!