Link Baiting

Link baiting, I have found out, is the practice of using offensive language, comments and just plain controversy, with the intention of getting lots of hits to one's blogsite. Within the Blogosphere (the buzzword for the people who blog), people are beginning to grow weary of this cheap taunting, because it drowns out all the decent blogs out there, who have actually got something to say.
This is hardly a new tactic, controversy has long been a staple of the P.R. gurus, because it is always the guaranteed formula for publicity. Max Clifford has made a fortune by endorsing the controversy of celebrities. Pete Doherty is perpetually gracing the pages of The Scum (or in the linked example, the Daily Mail), but how many Scum readers know any of his music. Oasis' phenomenal rise to fame in the mid-90's was attributed to the fact that their constant bickering was often tabloid fodder.
The internet has always been rife with, frankly, stupid individuals, who's sole purpose is to annoy, and/or waste others' time (see my post on Wikipedia's troubles for more on this). Every retarded wanker who has ever started a chain mail, please stand up. The fact that they are now diluting the blogging world should come as no surprise.