Just a little over a year ago there was a big discussion among the blogging community about the issue of authority, and whether Technorati’s metrics tracked influence or popularity.
It was widely felt that it tracked the later. But now it seems that Technorati is back in the “authority” business again with a new number.
I noticed that a number is assigned to each blog that Technorati calls its “Authority.” In a blog URL search, it replaces the number of links, leaving the total of blogs that link (see the graphic above).
There is a Technorati blog post about a new widget you can use to display your “authority” at your site, but I can’t seem to find a good explanation of what this all means.
All I find is the assertion that the higher the number, the higher the blog’s “authority.” But what constitutes authority? So, in case you want to know, this blog has an “authority” of 417.
I hate metrics that are completely meaningless.
