Descending into the rathole – why I use ‘related posts’ links

Folks have asked me before about the ‘related posts’ links that I usually include in the footer of each blog post, inquiring whether I use a program to generate these.  If only!  While there are some WordPress plug-ins that automatically create related links (one of the reasons why I will likely move this blog over to that system at some point in the future), I’m proud to say that I hand-code those puppies with each post that goes out.

Why?

Well, with each passing day this blog becomes a more massive database of information (visions of books stacked sky-high or a huge landfill full of deliciously stinky garbage spring to mind), and these links provide a way into the heap of double bass fun–a virtual rathole back in time, allowing the reader to move through the (as of this writing) nearly 2000 posts on this blog.  One post leads to another, leading to another….

Without such links, people must either scroll back in time through the front page (which can also be fun, but somewhat tedious if you’re a regular reader), use the search box, or click the tabs at the top to delve into particular subjects.  While all of these methods have their strengths when it comes to parsing all of this information, I like the related posts best because there is some human intelligence behind the selection process.  I go through my old posts using key search words to find relevant posts, and since there are usually related post links on those posts, the blog reader can descend into the rathole for a long time before running into a dead end.

Just thought you might like to know the reasoning behind it.  Lots of blogs (particularly tech blogs) to the same thing, and although it is certainly some extra work, I think that it adds a lot to the user experience.

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• Fall = more writing time

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