I’m playing with it a little, but unless I get positive results, Technorati ranking notwithstanding, I’ll cheerfully drop blog rolls. If it doesn’t work, what’s the point?

For example: although mine has lots of links in one category, I’ve limited the number to 5, and it’s a random 5 each and every time a page is loaded. Sure, there are fewer actual blogs listed per page, but all the links on the roll have about the same amount of exposure on the site.

I also think that SEO and pandering to the Search Engines has messed up our idea of how and who we should link to in general.

It does seem that the bigger a blogger gets, the less likely he or she is to have a blogroll. Whether that’s because they don’t need the link love any more, so therefore also don’t feel the need to share it, or because of the hurt feelings at the playground thing you mention, or just plain not wanting to be bothered anymore–blogrolls do often seem to go the way of the dodo bird, the higher up in the blogosphere one goes.

I think for newer bloggers and bloggers climbing their way up the ranks, blogrolls still provide a helpful service to readers and to bloggers. Especially if that blogger isn’t in one of the big 5 blog areas–tech, politcal, entertainment, big business, or journalism.

No doubt, we’d all love to get so popular that we could make our blogrolls obsolete. (Said tongue-in-cheek)If I ever get there, I’ll be sure to remember your article to help assuage my guilt for dumping the other bloggers who helped get me there.

Kidding aside. Your points are well taken.

people started creating those automated directories with tons and tons of reciprocal links on their sites. What a waste those are! They are useless from a users perspective.

I think a blogroll can be usefull to your visitors if you link to blogs that your visitors will enjoy you sharing. It’s all about your visitors, right? You want the user experience to be great. If you have a ton of blogroll links, it’s going to be worthless. Maybe in that case adding a categorized link directory would be better for your users. While linking only to good articles makes some sense, is it best for the visitors of your blog? Maybe, maybe not.

Links are money in the Economy of Attention – they are a priority VALUE sytem.

Being transparent and genuine in deciding who is worthy of sharing your attention… It’s not unlike a form of promiscuity, really.

I’m not advocating total Link Celibacy, but I do believe I am responsible to the value of my links – I handle them as valuable, I give them as valuable, and I receive them with the same level of respect.

A judgement is made upon You, Your Blog, Your Brand – a reflection – trying to get Big Popular People to like you is never genuinely effective.

The Goal is to create superior content, and have a good reason to ally yourself with identify what you respect, and reward that with your recommendation.

When it is reciprocated by those you hope become your peers – then you know you’re in the right company and that you deserve to be in that company – for the best reasons.

I think blogrolls are a foundational part of the blogosphere. So while I respect your opinion, I disagree.

While they do serve a fine purpose, allowing visitors to see other blogs they might like, and sharing the link-love is always good, I don’t do them.

But honestly, I disagree with all of you! Vehemently. Or however you spell it.

If I were to, say, author a travel blog, I’d want to link to others of a similar ilk just for shits and giggles. And because I thought they added something to what I had to say. Mind you, I’m not nearly so dedicated or organized to get that far, so I only have a few. But for those I do add, I’m not often in contact with them, don’t call them my friends, and don’t ask for reciprocal links.

But then again, I’m not particularly serious obout this blogging thing.

Being a relative newcomer (who am I trying to kid – I’ve hardly been born) to the blogging world, I have found myself following every conceivable blogging tip written, including having a blogroll. But the blogroll made me a tad uncomfortable. In the back of my mind was a nagging feeling that it doesn’t work , whatever it was meant to do.

I think I’m going to follow your advice and cut the cord.

I wonder whether the same thing is an inevitability when it comes to MyBlogLog.