SEO From the Dark Side

Quite a while back I was thinking about how blogs will evolve over the coming years. In fact I was comparing blogs to the way TV programmes have evolved, including the latest ‘reality tv’ trend.

Then, suddenly, I came up with the idea of ‘reality blogs’: discussion-type blogs where visitors’ comments are more important, interesting and entertaining than the individual blog posts. Where, the goal of the blogger is to get visitors to express there views and to even criticise other commenters’ views – somewhat like a chat show. Within a few more days of thinking about this, the idea had progressed to a whole new blogging concept involving discussion, quiz, fun, and entertainment-type blogs, all with a unique look and feel.

Initially, I played around with discussion-type blogs and came up with this proof-of-concept: What Do You Think

Instead of one column of comments, there are two. So the blogger asks his audience their opinion on a particular issue, and even encourages them to express biased views. You can imagine how ’sticky’ such a blog could be – certainly Web 2.0 stuff and beyond!

However, I soon realised this project was much bigger than I initially thought and would be too time-intensive, in terms of research and development, and that would mean neglecting my real passion – BLACKHAT! As a result, I decided to shelve the project.

But, today, many months on, I’m sharing the concept and giving away the working prototype of ‘What Do You Think?’. It comprises a modified WP theme and plug-in. Download below, and install and activate the theme and plug-in. Also, you must change your blog’s permalinks to something like /%postname%/ otherwise it will not work!

I’ve included a backlink in the theme’s footer. I’d appreciate it if you left the link in the theme as I’ve spent many hours developing the concept, theme and plug-in. Also, if you create a great discussion-type blog, let me know the URL and I’ll feature it on here.

Watch out for a quiz-type theme… coming soon!