…aka Web Resource Blog 101.

Every week I receive a respectable email newsletter containing a bunch of links on topics related to making me a better web developer. Yes, even I am not perfect (you heard it here first).

In amongst a handful of genuinely useful articles, there are an increasing number of clone sites which at first glance appear to offer their readers The Elixir of Life in one short, easy to digest post.

Too often though, they just recycle content and rely on visitors to fill in the blanks.

Because they’re becoming something of a cliché I thought I would expose them for the money grubbing ‘entrepreneurs’ that they are (IMO).

It goes something like this. Follow along to make some extra cash:

1. Set up a blog.
2. Give your blog a nice Web 2.0 skin. If you can’t design, get a crack designer. Don’t worry if it costs a bit (see 11).
3. The title should have something to do with web development, and make you appear to be benevolent and only concerned with the welfare of other developers.
4. Read other blogs, copy their content. It doesn’t matter if you’re somewhat short on content, see 12.
5. Add ads. This is the real reason for your blog, but no-one will know except you (and me). Also, try and keep the total number of ads down to 10 or less, scattered around the page – or someone else might cotton on to your scam.
6. Create a blog post.
7. Give your post a totally unbelievable title – this will guarantee that you will get lots of trackbacks from people wanting your magic content on their site – or in their respectable mailing list.
8. Add a dash of content. If you know there’s something that’s missing, don’t bust your ass to learn about it – see 12.
9. Post it and they will come – developers I mean.
10. The NKOTB will read your post and thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!
11. Because the NKOTB now trust you they will probably blindly click your ads. Ching ching.
12. The experienced devs, on the other hand, will critique your content, tell you where you stole it from, and – most importantly – tell you what you should have posted, supplying links to some real gems that only real developers would know about. In short they will spill their secrets to you.
13. Now you have lots of good content from people that know what they’re doing. Plus you have loads of trackbacks from people keen to show that they too know what’s hip and cool, and that they are also benevolent and only concerned with the welfare of other developers.
14. Rinse and repeat.