During my afternoon blog catchup, I was surprised to come across some of my favorite SEO blog sites getting hacked (see this article). Many of those sites listed are regular reads for myself and many others in our industry, so I’m sure that I’m not the only person affected by the outcome. But what led to this series of hackings? Here are my theories.

1. Continued SEO advice on “how to get to the front page of Digg.com”
   The digg.com community, like slashdot’s, can be classified as advanced internet users. Many of the top digg contributers are definitely more internet savvy than those who frequent other portal sites. Several months ago, a slew of SEO articles on random blogs began advising others on “ways to get to the front page of Digg” with tactics to include top 10 listings to other forms of manipulation. Unfortunately, the posts were taken negatively by many people (Can you really blame them?), which created significant backlash from the Digg community. If you want to gain ground on a community like digg’s then it is good advice to stay away from publishing articles on how to control the people involved.
2. Abusing the System for one’s personal goal
   One personal goal - “incoming links”. I cannot blame the SEO community for this at all. If you really put thought into it, the real blame falls on Google, whose algorithm is strongly manipulated by incoming links. But seriously, Social Networks cannot control the untouchable behemoth Search Engines, or can they? Recently, google articles which used to always gain front page have been left dangling in the back pages of digg. Perhaps the “Do No Evil” mantra is finally catching up. How’s that for karma?
3. Get banned by Digg and take vengeance
   The SEO community should take advice from the man himself Danny Sullivan, who wrote Blog Drama on his personal blog, Daggle. I respect Danny a lot, not just because he is the man behind the industry, but because I have worked with clients of his. Here’s a man that truly knows his stuff. If you want respect, you’ll have to learn respect others first. It’s the karma factor for blogging. Going off on how digg “screwed” you isn’t going to earn you any respect. In fact, the one thing many SEO advice columns have neglected in their blogs is that it isn’t about you. In the world of techmeme, there are countless posts that read, “omg I want to get my blog on the front page of Digg!” Have you even considered your clients? Sure, I’ve dugg my own blog, such as yesterday’s article (but damn, that was funny!), but I’m also digging things that interest me. That is how to fit in, not by preaching pompously about your self-worth and importance. No one cares about you! So get off your high horse and be humble, digg because you love digg.com, not because you want front page euphoria. If your blog is submitted, don’t message your friends and beg for sympathy diggs. Just let it happen. I find stuff on digg that I would never find on my own. I love it, and I’m sticking around.

I’m sure there are more reasons why Social Networks are beating down on the SEO Community, and although I used digg.com in my above outline, I don’t want to assume that the person responsible for yesterdays SEO rampage is a part of the digg community. I understand why this one particular community shuns the other, and although I am a part of both, I too take offense to the many Anti-Digg categorizations and assumptions being posted throughout the online marketing blogosphere.

It’s sad that many top blogs were hacked. The SEO community will quickly learn that online communities can’t be manipulated as easy as Google search results and I hope that both groups will build a trusting relationship that is mutually beneficial, instead of the constant infighting that mars the reputation of both parties.