The power of the link.

Unleash the energy of a connected URL.

Recognize

Linking is a powerful gesture. And there are several ways to use links in a blog post. Some ways links are used (certainly not limited to this list):

As evidence for your point
A recommending for that post
An attribution for someone else's idea
A way to engage the original author

Usually they are some combination of the above. Where you place links can be important. However, links can also be distracting, so you'll need to make a decision about how much you link.

Write

Draft a new blog post (without links). As a second step, go back and revise it to include several links to the information you reference.

Post

Post that URL to this P2PU task along with your answers to the following questions.

How are the non-linked and linked versions of your post different?
What do you let the link say for you?
What message does linking send to the reader?

Task Discussion

shaimaa said:

So, my blog isn't about references and information. Basically it is about things I want to say, you know. Stuff to think about. The question is; what do you do to get inspiration?!

on June 22, 2012, 6:34 p.m.

Dawny said:

hii shaimaa !! there is nothing like inspiration to become a succesful blogger.

Just start with small things like writing about yourself (cause u'll gonna have a good info.), or about your school life, etc.

After a few of such blogs, you would surely gain enough confidence to write various other blogs.

So hope you become a good blogger.

Happy blogging............ :)

on June 22, 2012, 6:40 p.m. in reply to shaimaa
Dawny said:

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3073371549685622967#overview

on June 22, 2012, 1:10 p.m.
Anonym said:

I only use links when proving a point or having a discussion on an online forum. Using other sources also differentiates between facts and opinions.

on June 1, 2012, 6:47 p.m.
Anonym said:

People hardly get real original ideas nowadays. The process you did may be original, but there was something at the source, that is worth mentionning. This is why I always try to include at least one link in my posts. Now this made me edit one of my posts just to add a few links: http://p2pu.afrosoft.tk/2012/05/editors/

on May 2, 2012, 2:58 p.m.
audrey said:

I rarely write posts that don't include links. I think, in part, it's a reflection of my academic training that makes me feel like I must cite my sources throughout any piece of writing. One of the things I love about writing for the Web is that this process of citation is easier to do than creating footnotes or endnotes.

That being said, I did just write a piece that contained no links. Well, it had one link. But I didn't link to several things in it that could have had URLs.

http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/hack-higher-education/my-month-without-reading-any-tech-blogs

My decision to do so was part of a different goal, I'd say -- and that is the power of NOT linking. There are times, I'd argue, when you don't want to give an article/blog post a link. Typically, it's a way of acknowledging that someone's written something that doesn't deserve a "click" or a pageview, such as when someone writes something "link-baiting" or generally awful.

I'm not sure I'd go so far as saying this is a "best practice" for writing for the Web. But sometimes it feels pretty satisfying to not link.

on April 29, 2012, 2:12 p.m.
Christopher Crawford said:

The two links I used in this post are to engage the author of the first link and to provide evidence for my argument with the second link. I think that this post would have possibly worked better if I had used a bibliography/ endnotes list at the end similar to the one used by Nicholas Carr. I would have included more references. I thought that more than two links in a piece so short would look cluttered, especially since the theme I use renders links as a different color than regular text. http://redclaytheology.wordpress.com/2012/04/26/saul-of-tarsus/

on April 25, 2012, 9:32 p.m.

audrey said:

I often worry the same thing about too many links being distracting, particularly when they're a different color. I addressed this once by changing the font color back to black. I really like the process of linking. I think it's such a powerful thing with writing for the Web. But I do agree -- a lot of little colored words scattered throughout paragraphs does change how we read.

on April 26, 2012, 12:41 a.m. in reply to Christopher Crawford
Bud Hunt said:

I've found that I won't use a writing tool on the Web if I can't embed a hyperlink in the text it produces. The one exception for me is Twitter, where it's not considered noob-y to paste a link within the text - largely because SMS is in the DNA of the tool, and SMS doesn't handle embedded links - at least in practice.

I've struggled with how to define what links are and what links can do. But I think they're the closest to a new element of writing that I've seen in my lifetime. Struggling to figure out what they're good for is a fine struggle.

on April 16, 2012, 2:12 p.m.

audrey said:

I've noticed you use footnotes too (wait, I think I've noticed that. Right?) That's something I don't tend to do when writing online. (Although maybe I just associate footnotes with a more academic writing? I don't know...) I do like the way you link to things internally that way.

on April 26, 2012, 12:44 a.m. in reply to Bud Hunt

Bud Hunt said:

You have, indeed, noticed that. They're a handy additional tool that I find really useful - keeps the asides on the "page". I've always appreciated footnotes in print text. Endnotes are evil for folks who actually like small sidetrips in print.

on April 27, 2012, 11:34 a.m. in reply to audrey