I am becoming increasingly annoyed (even for me) at the number of times I see bloggers using what I call phantom links. A phantom link is one in which the blogger refers to and links to information on someone else’s blog, but can’t be bothered to give credit, by name, to the blogger he or she is linking to. Here’s an example of the right way and wrong way to link to someone’s blog:

Right way: Steve Rubel, for example, suggests that the use of Twitter direct messages as a medium for PR pitches might be a “practice that journalists can live with.”

Wrong way: Many have suggested that the use of Twitter direct messages as a medium for PR pitches might be a practice that journalists can live with.

Sometimes the use of the phantom link is just sloppy writing. At other times it is used because the blogger wants to appear to have “done the right thing,” but at the same time, would like to claim credit for some of the source blogger’s ideas. If I, or some other blogger, has laid the groundwork for a post, or produced a post worthwhile enough to reference, then I think it’s appropriate to give credit where due.

Tags: phantom links, attribution