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Claiming your ActiveRain blog with Technorati

I recently posted about blog tagging . I mentioned how Technorati is a key way to maximize your tag exposure. But to make this work, you must embed special javascript code so that Technorati can confirm that you own your blog. If you've tried to claim your ActiveRain blog and it's still in "processing" status, you've found a limitation with the current system. So here's my hack... ahem... solution.

Disable javascript.

Yep, that's it. Just disable javascript in your browser.

Why it works

The post editor uses javascript to provide WYSIWYG functionality to normal text boxes. By disabling javascript in your browser you will effectively disable the WYSIWYG editor. This will allow you to edit your post via raw HTML code.

What about an <HTML> button

So why doesn't ActiveRain allow direct HTML editing? Well before you get mad with them, let me present a few reasons why I would disable it.

Site formatting consistency
Site security (i.e. preventing rogue scripts)
Interface simplicity (prevents end-user confusion, fewer buttons)

With the forethought that the ActiveRain team has put into the development of this system, I have no doubt that they have good reasons for preventing this. However, I will leave it up to them to share their reasons. I'm content with the way things are since there is a very easy workaround.

* BTW, I use Firefox with the Web Developer plugin. The plugin makes it very easy.

Posted by Jason Ungos on 07/24/2006 02:01 PM

Comments (19)

tags, activerain, technorati, blogging

19 Comments on Claiming your ActiveRain blog with Technorati

JUL

2006

Couple more tips that I discovered when I added the ActiveRain blog to my Technorati account:

You need to re-enable JavaScript to complete the claiming process.
You need to publish the Technorati JavaScript embeded code in a Public post. It won't work as an associates only or members only post.

Jason, thanks the tip to our members. You hit the nail on the head as far as our reasons to disable direct HTML editing.

Ben, Thanks for the additional tips. That's good for people to know. Glad that you got yours working. Matt, Cool. I hope I didn't reveal too many secrets. I sent an email yesterday with a heads up just in case I was. :-) From a security standpoint, I'd recommend doing some kind of post "cleaning" to limit the kind of scripts that are run.

JUL

2006

Has anyone considered the disadvantages of creating lots of real estate related tags on Technorati's domain?

Seriously - ponder for just a moment - what happens when all real estate blogs in ActiveRain are integrated into Technorati and all tag URL's regard real estate topics resolve to that domain?

The net result will create these additional unanticipated results:

In Google, Technorati will appear in the top results for real estate related searches; these results will affect local, regional, and national key terms for your industry;
Highly ranked result items for Technorati may point to your blog content, but more than likely not -- the links will point to a tag search URL on Technorati's domain. This means that visitors to your content will have to first click the link in Google's result page and then scroll down to find content they are really interested in;
Technorati will (over time) become the largest hub of links to real estate content -- hubs are more valuable than spokes -- continual reinforcement of Technorati through tags or blog claims will only draw emphasis away from ActiveRain and reward Technorati's domain;

Bill, that's an interesting perspective. You're right to a point. However, the good thing is that we don't ever link to Technorati. So shouldn't tagging still benefit the blogger?

With tagging, it's not about about creating links to Technorati at all. It's about getting Technorati and other tag-aware "hubs" to point to specific content within OUR site.

Tags are identified by the rel=tag attribute and do not link to Technorati. For example, with ActiveRain, the tags for each post point to a page on ActiveRain. You'll see that this is true on other sites as well.

With proper tagging, you get free, relevant, one-way inbound links from a respected "hub". Wouldn't this be like people paying to get into the Yahoo directory or getting listed in DMOZ? Maybe I'm missing something, but how is this a disadvantage?

Jason --

"So shouldn't tagging still benefit the blogger?"

Yes, tagging is a good thing and I think you're right. If you're not linking to Technorati, you're not giving it undue "SEO juice". However, "claiming" a blog in Technorati does appear to create a relationship although I'm not certain what the underlying Javascript mechanism is. Tag linking your your own domain is an ideal method for dodging the SEO juice issue.

My real concern is best shown by example. Here a real estate site (a weblog) that links to Technorati 57 times on the home page alone; comprised solely of rel tags.

"For example, with ActiveRain, the tags for each post point to a page on ActiveRain."

I'm aware of that and I think that's ;good, but I don't think Technorato is picking them up and referencing them (as you would obviously hope and expect). If it were, this tag search would yield more than it does, right?

Perhaps Technorati simply hasn't indexed ActiveRain yet - I've seen them struggle with getting a new domain crawled. My hunch though is that the tag format (while ideal for keeping the links where they belong) is incompatible with what Technorati may be expecting.

Bill,

Nice catch. Technorati is indexing AR, but not picking up on the tags. It's because the tag portion of the posts on AR are not included as part of the RSS. I've emailed "the guys" to see if they can remedy the issue.

As for your concern with the referenced site, this is a way for people to find related posts, but not necessary to be picked up by Technorati. Although it's probably the plugin that he's using on the site, an implementation like his could also be a personal preference.

Yes, it can become a concern if people point to a third-party like this instead of their own site. People should be aware of how they implement tags on their own sites, but at least it's not an issue here.

Thanks for bringing it up.

Jason:

"an implementation like his could also be a personal preference"

Yes, I agree - it's a matter or personal preference and the decision should be contextual. Some bloggers write about many subjects - too diverse to impact any specific industry. However, thoise that are engaging in this behavior (like the referenced site) typically don't understand the likely consequences of their actions - they're just doing it because a friendly blogger told them they need to. Like many emerging technologies, personal blog behaviors are not likely to be the right thing to do for your business. ;-)

"... but at least it's not an issue here."

Actually, it could be an issue here if users start dropping externally-referenced tag links in their content. I remember seeing a few AR members that had done this, but I can't remember where.

And this issue is not isolated to Technorati - Flickr, Del.ico.us, SmugMug, and many others that support folksonomies are hungry for people to tag content in relation to these services.

A good question to ponder - how do you integrate one blog to 15 different tagging services? ;-)

OCT

2006

Jason you don't actually need to turn JS off to do claim your blog. The instruction I posted work just fine and people don't have to do anything special. Takes 2 minutes for the whole process.

MAY

2007

So......... being kind of new to this and having read all the comments about claiming an ActiveRain blog with Technorati, is it a good thing or not. Also, after embedding the java script in a post, can the post be deleted after the claiming process is complete. Also, after diabling and then enabling the java script, should it remain enabled?

Can I claim more than on blog with Technorati? I claimed my Blogger.com blog. I was wondering if I should have claimed ActiveRain??

MAY

2007

Janis, you can claim as many blogs as you want. No worries there.

As for the code... once it's claimed, it's claimed. You can delete the post.

Javascript needs to be disabled only when you enter and post your code. Once posted you can re-enable javascript. Disabling javascript simply turns off the nice editor.

AR now has an HTML button, but I don't think you can put script tags in them. Anyone else test that?

Also claiming a blog in Technorati is an instantaneous event. You'll know right away when you click "claim." You shouldn't have to wait.

OK, I have tried. I posted, I copied, pasted. I have tried everything possible and get a message that says Technorati cannot find claim code. I am new to AR by the way!
I embedded the code in an AR post and made public. Wondering if it should be in the blog description under settings.... I copied and pasted the entire html code that Technorati gives you when you claim your blog.I did it 3 ways. I copied and pasted in the html edit mode. I created as a link using the link sign next to html. I also didn't copy and paste but actually wrote the html code out because I read somewhere that Technorati didn't like copy and paste!!! Also, when Ii use this URL http://activerain.com/blogs/portorangerealtor this message comes up: Sorry, your claim could not be completed because we couldn't find the claim code on your site. Please make sure you've followed all the steps above and try again.

At this point I am going to delete everyting including the post and the claim on Technorati!! Any other suggestions??

Thanks for your help.

Janis Gagliardi

Gaffs Realty

www.TeamGagliardi.com

janis@TeamGagliardi.com

AUG

2008

That's great infor Jason... ONLY IT DOESN"T work any longer. I know a lot of people are looking for answers. You way want to update this info in a new blog and then add a comment to link to it or take this post down since it is no longer accurate.

I look forward to your new post!

Garren:

"...or take this post down since it is no longer accurate."

This is hillarious. Imagine an online magazine that erased previous articles because they were no longer historically accurate. Imagine a print newspaper that magically erased the ink of any historical article that proved to be inaccurate. Suggesting this as a responsibility of an online author, is unreasonable. Is everything you've ever written on the web still accurate?

Ideally, *all* online content is accurate for all time and etermity, but that's simply impractical. Better still, you have the ability to leave a comment and embellish the accuracy of the post. Perhaps the better approach is to simply leave a comment indicating you have a new (and more accurate) perspective and drive traffic to your answer -- upside all around. ;-)

AUG

2008

Content always changes and so too with it the historical accuracy. If one makes a comment somewhere on the net in regards to some kind of technology where they are in a power position (meaning: people are relying on your info) then it is your obligation to update your posts to reflect the current situation of that specific topic. This network however doesn't rely on information on any one source (other than the official active rain account, and a few others) and moreover one can see the disclaimer at the bottom of the page that clearly indicates that information may be deemed innacurate hence why they don't endorese any specific real estate agents or brokers listed on this site.

In lamens, as long as someone else updates this post (which garren already has) and provides an accurate update (which he has) then all's good and well in cartoonland.(reference to roger rabbit)

Thanks for informing us of this change Jason (even though it's outdated now). Please don't hesitate to post again as your contributions are helpful to others here. (or were helpful at one point)

JAN

I did it but now it says I claim localism.com as my blog. I tried to copy and paste it over with my name and it says you already have claimed this and it gives, localim.com

Anyway, thank you for your information. Taking the java off helped make it work.