Traffic jam, upon request

At some point, almost every blogger feels the need to juice the traffic stats. Maybe it's to impress someone, to pass a milestone -- or just for a quick ego boost.

The social net Digg can do the job, assuming the blogger knows how to sling link bait. That usually means targeting adolescent males and topping the post with a gotta-click headline.

This morning, top Digg topics include "The 16 Ugliest Men in the History of Rock and Roll" and "How to Write an Episode of 'Dukes of Hazzard.' " If enough readers digg the post, the traffic gushes in. No guarantee the superuser clique that runs the site will look favorably on the contribution, however.

For a flow of more organic traffic there are Reddit and Propeller (Netscape). They work the same way as Digg, but the audience proves to be more mature and less excitable. I also like the lower-profile Truemors (disclosure: I am some kind of sanctioned "Truemorist").

Then there's BlogExplosion, a free and totally reliable source of raw traffic. (No, this is not a paid post.)

BlogExplosion works like a co-op. Members visit other blogs and get a visit from someone else in return. Bloggers can allocate their credits to various web sites in which they have an interest or send it all to one place. (This has nothing to do with selling links, the target of Google's latest police action.)

BlogExplosion content isn't filtered for quality as it is on StumbleUpon. The site serves up a lot of marginal content -- from mommies, work-from-home gurus, Filipino teenieboppers, rightwingers, bloggers who blog about writing.

The neighborhood might be a bit run down, but anyone who wants a blog seen can make it happen here.

Don't count on these new readers to make return visits, though -- BlogExplosion doesn't even display the real URL for its "surfers." These visits provide an uptick in the blog stats, that's about it. As a marketing tool, BlogExplosion seems borderline worthless.

One member I encountered in a forum said she visits these blogs while doing laundry or watching TV. She never actually reads them, just waits out the timer in order to get a credit (return visit). Too bad -- every now and then members will come upon some finds.

I usually enjoy rummaging around. Here are some of my favorites from BlogExplosion, so far:

• The Fourth Avenue Blues from Andrew of Alabama. A talented writer in his mid-30s details his battles with booze and mental illness in a format that feels like a series of short stories.



• Sex is the New Blog links to to adult sites of an artistic bent. Mostly soft porn, classy nudes and lipstick lesbians, but be prepared for some hard stuff as well. Clever and classy commentary from the host. Well worth a visit if you're open to such things. (BlogExplosion has an adult-site filter if you choose to use it.)



• Kimchihead dishes out pulp non-fiction. "Names of people and places have been changed to protect the innocent. And to protect me from the not-so-innocent," Mr. Kimchihead writes. Almost all noir-influenced blogging blows, but this guy has the touch, on his snub-nosed keyboard.

Follow-up on social networks:

TechCrunch on "Why Digg Is Still the Best"
Center Networks on "Propeller Update - Up... Up... And Away!"