Let’s hear it for mediocre

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There’s supposedly no room for mediocre in this world, not if you want to get on anyway, but today I’m wondering if Google “rewards” it.

I’m sure you’ve all read how many “top blogs”; ProBlogger, AdesBlog, Quickonlinetips, Uncle Tom Cobley and all [1] have been knocked off their perches with Google PR losses, typically PR 6/7 down to PR 3/4/5.

Everyone has their own theory on why, most of which revolve around possible penalties for selling paid text links. Quickonlinetips proffer that it’s “a visible decrease in the Google toolbar PR to demotivate advertisers who buy links based on pagerank basis,” which sounds logical.

But as DailyBlogTips say, “Given that Problogger and Copyblogger are not selling links, it might be just a readjustment on the PR scale.”

Thus, some people have decided that “5 is the new 7″. LOL!

(Hey, I have one of those (that has quietly remained PR 5 through numerous updates), but I’ll try not to let it go to my head!)

Whatever the reasons and, none of us really know how Google works this out, I’d like to think of this as a “democracy” or “ego busting” update that levels the playing field for anyone who plays the game nicely.

Now my (and probably your) “average” PR 3/4 blogs ain’t that far behind anyone else’s and, some of the “A-List” types who previously thought they’d achieved a near god-like status, have learned a little humility and been brought sharply back down to the level of mere mortals.

Of course I’m not at all egotistical nor interested in my Google PR …

So I rushed to check all my main sites and blogs. Well, I’ve got one site that was previously too new to be ranked that has now started climbing the charts with a PR 2. (The interesting part is that it has ONE incoming link and NO CONTENT yet.) Another, previously a PR 3 has been promoted to a PR 4. Otherwise, all of my “mediocre” PR 3/4 sites/blogs have each remained exactly as they were at “mediocre” PR 3/4.

A prize for not pushing the envelope too far, perhaps?

All joking aside (you could tell that I’m writing this with my tongue firmly in my cheek, couldn’t you?), I do think that is the reason:

If the nail don’t stick up, then it won’t get hammered on the head.

But there’s a tiny problem … There’s a definite conflict between the need to market oneself and make oneself highly visible and, the need not to be a nail that sticks up. The latter requires balance, moderation, maturity and a bunch of things that sound an awful lot like boring and mediocre and, I might add, also seriously limit your income earning potential. It’s not some something you actually want to strive for, is it?

Anyway, I’ll let Maki have the last word: “Introspection is often forced. We don’t think about sustainability and our actions until unfavorable circumstances arises. If you only consider how a PageRank shift will negatively affect you after it has happened, you’re already screwed.”

Google PageRank Doesn’t Matter. Can We Stop Talking about it Now?

[1] The phrase Uncle Tom Cobley and all is used in British English as a humorous or whimsical way of saying et al, often to express exasperation at the large number of people in a list.)

Written by Pamela Heywood - Visit Website | Leave a tip | Buy me something