TechParent Editorial: Alltop? Make it Stop already!

I feel very lonely, no I am not completely alone, there are others (well at least two here and here).  But it was this glowing over the top “review”  that was the straw the broke the camel’s back.  I’ve had a lot of thoughts about Alltop, and none of them are positive.

I have seen nothing at Alltop, that would make it stand on its own if Guy’s name wasn’t attached to it. As a matter of fact there are very similar sites already that you could say it is a KNOCKOFF of, and that most people probably haven’t heard of, such as popurls.com or Web 2.0 Workgroup. Never heard of them? My point exactly. Not that there is anything wrong with them per se, they are RSS aggregators. Whoo Hoo! They are not the “next big thing” even if Guy’s name is attached.

Many are bragging about the traffic it brings, but this really reminds me a lot of the old “Web Rings” that were popular with some web sites a long time ago. Yes, they brought some traffic for a little while, that traffic basically was the other members of the web ring (or in this case, other people that are listed at Alltop.com). Much like a multi-level-marketing plan, it almost looks real at first, but eventually the house of cards tumble.

The layout and design is neither time saving, nor customizable enough of experience to make it useful, it is difficult to read, and the “one-page” paradigm is washed out by lots of longs scrolling.

Then, and this may sound a bit bitter, but hear me out. There are some blogs and sites (some of which I read mind you), which are listed on Alltop, which just make me scratch my head, and say if that is the “Top” there is something wrong. Now again, this is not about me being bitter. I know damn well, I don’t belong on any “top” list at this point. I certainly hope to share things with people, and I hope some even find some value in this blog, but when the day is done, I realize what this blog is. It is more of a social medium than anything else. I share bits of knowledge I have garnered and I get some advice when I am stuck by a few readers. That does not qualify this blog as “top” of anything. I saw a comment go by on Twitter the other day saying, “Just ask Guy, I’m sure he will add you if you ask him.” Oh, I see this is what it takes to be a “top” site on the web today? Give me a break.

In the end it is a novelty that will go nowhere once Guy moves on to his next project, and the people listed, stop coming back to prove how worthy they are to be on “the list.” A few sites will continue to have the “badge” long after anybody cares any longer, much likes some old sites that still have links to web rings that have long since stopped being updated, but it won’t matter because nobody will click on it anyway.

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