Why Credibility Matters
dshipper.posterous.com
dshipper.posterous.com
I've been reading HN for years, and often don't pay much attention to who has written or posted the articles. I just scan down, click on whatever catches my attention, and read.
I'd hesitate to say that social factors never come into play, but generally I don't think I pre-judge material based on the credentials of the author. If an author makes a good point, then I will recognise that, whether it's a celebrated blogger or somebody I've never heard of.
My own, rather limited, blogging experience backs this up. I've had a number of my own blog posts rank highly on HN and Reddit, but I don't doubt that 99% of the people who read and up-voted them had never heard of me.
A couple of things which could have affected it:
* the title was much snappier 2nd time around
* sometimes just simple timing/luck plays a big part, e.g. getting those 4-5 early votes which gets an article on the front page
What I was trying to say is that when you come from a position of credibility which is not necessarily based upon the fact that people recognize your name, it makes people more likely to listen to what you have to say. While that point may seem obvious, I think the subtle part is that you can position what you write or what you produce to highlight the fact that you are a credible source. In essence, what I'm trying to get at is that beyond a snappy title, and blind luck, there are small changes that you can make to how you position what you produce to make it more likely to succeed. Enhancing your visibility and credibility is one of them.