One of the fallacies of the blogosphere is the idea that early adoption is an insurmountable obstacle to getting on the A-list. Older bloggers will tell you that once someone is on top, all they have to do is keep writing, and power laws and preferential attachment will keep those bloggers at the top.
It's all based on the idea that the rich get richer. It's also dead wrong.
Early adoption is important in blogging. The earlier you start, the bigger advantage you have over your rivals. And yet, two people specifically have proven that curiousity, talent, and drive matter more than the day you bought your domain name.
I'm speaking, of course of Jason Alba of Jibber Jobber and Dave Mendoza of Six Degrees From Dave. Jason and Dave are both excellent bloggers. I don't just mean they write well - they're bloggers - fully integrated into their communities and always looking out for ways to help other people.
That unselfishness has payed off handsomely for both.
Looking at Technorati results (and anecdotally, through Google Searches as well), I think a strong case can be made that Dave and Jason are in the top 10 of employment blogs nationwide in influence and SEO. Six Degrees From Dave has 853 links to it and an authority of 93. Jibber Jobber has an astounding 2,681 links and an authority of 240.
It's not a perfect match, but if I were going strictly on statistics, I'd have to say these two have come out of nowhere to dominate SERP (search engine results pages).
Kudos to both of you. I wish I had twenty employees like each of you.
... wow - Jim, thank you for this post. While it feels good to get recognition from anyone, this is really significant considering the fact that I see you as one of the top leaders in the recruiting blog space, and definitely "in the know." You've definitely been an inspiration, as I've watched your multiple blog properties grow!
Posted by: Jason Alba | October 30, 2007 at 11:10 AM