The Social Flooring Index

Monitoring the Social State of the Flooring Industry

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Social Flooring Blog Index - August 2010

Wordle: Social Flooring Index - August 2010
Over the past month, I've been intensely exploring the world of flooring blogs, adding to my list of Social Flooring Index Blogs and analyzing the content of the various flooring conversations [i.e., blog posts] taking place.

Here follow my observations as well as a ranked list of the Social Flooring Blog Index for August 2010.

The Social Flooring Blog Index now includes 88 blogs, up from 53 in April 2010.

Social Flooring Blog Index Conversation Overview

Over the past 6 months, blogs in the Social Flooring Index issued 1,532 conversations.  Of those conversations,
  • 1,001 related to carpet, wood, laminate or flooring
  • 450 focus on carpet
  • 252 touch on design or fashion
  • 143 address cleaning
  • 89 discuss benefits
  • 32 relate to recycling
  • 25 touch on allergy related topics
  • 25 address padding
As you can see from the graphic above which captures the 50 most heavily mentioned terms, product categories represent the bulk of the what's discussed on flooring blogs. 

Social Flooring Blog Index Conversations
This next chart above gives you a sense of the volume of the conversations from flooring blogs over the past six months. Notice the growth in the curve, representing more conversations taking place.  The reason: there are more places for those conversations to take place, that is to say, more blogs.

How Strongly Networked are Social Flooring Index Blogs?

A fundamental aspect of participating in social media is doing so for social reasons.  In other words, you do so because of a willingness to engage with readers and others with whom you share common interests.  That's what makes this all 'social'.

The benefit to being social is that it builds the credibility of a blog, making it more trustworthy for readers as well as more relevant and a lot more interesting.

As you'll see in the next few graphics which map out relationships, the flooring industry isn't yet strongly networked. [Note: you can click on each of them to see the graphic in more detail.]

Social Flooring Blog Index Map
This first map does not include the Social Flooring Index blog itself. I was curious about the role this blog plays in facilitiating networking among Flooring Industry blogs. The purple boxes in the middle represent blogs with a relationship to the Carpet and Rug Institute Blog.

Social Flooring Blog Index Map 2
This map does include the Social Flooring Index blog. Notice that the central grouping is larger and more connected. The blogs along the perimeter represent new additions to the Social Flooring Index. By virtue of including them in this post, I anticipate this chart looking quite different in its next iteration.

Social Flooring Blog Index Community Closeup

Finally, a close up of the more closely networked flooring blogs.  At its core, with the most influence in the flooring industry is the Carpet and Rug Institute Blog which provides content in support of the flooring industry, and more specifically the carpet industry. Many other flooring blogs refer to it, and it to them.

Of note here is that many flooring blogs don't link out to many other resources -- if any. In other words, they are missing out on opportunities to be 'social'.

Please note that all three of these graphics represent a static snapshot of an interactive graph that shows dynamically how the blogs in the flooring community connect. It's quite fascinating to explore it in more detail.

Social Flooring Blog Index, Ranked by Influence

Last, but not least, is the list of blogs in the Social Flooring Blog Index. It is ranked by influence, with 1 representing the most influence.  The first 18 blogs represent blogs with high and medium influence.

Influence is a function of page rank and an influence score related to Compete traffic data and how active the blog has been over the past six months.

The bolded blogs are ones that I have some connection to.

If you notice that a flooring blog you are familiar with isn't represented here, please let me know so I can add it to the list.

As far as social next steps, you might consider doing a blogpost highlighting - and including a link to - one of the blogs in this listing. Then, reach out to that blog's author and say hello!


RankUrlTitle
1http://www.carpet-and-rug-institute-blog.comThe Carpet And Rug Institute Blog
2http://www.flooringnow.comFlooring Information Now - Flooring Trends and News Blog - Flooring Now!
3http://flooringtheconsumer.blogspot.comFlooring The Consumer
4http://carpetology.blogspot.comThe Carpetology Blog
5http://floortalk.wfca.orgFloorTalk - flooring fashion trends
6http://blog.builddirect.comFlooring and Building Materials Blog from BuildDirect
7http://www.fromthefloorsup.comfrom the floors up
8http://www.socialflooringindex.comThe Social Flooring Index
9http://www.domotexblog.comThe Blog for DOMOTEX: The World of Flooring
10http://blogs.findanyfloor.com/consumerFlooring Blog for Consumers by FindAnyFloor.com
11http://blog.floorcoveringinstitute.comThe Floor Covering Institute Blog
12http://blogs.findanyfloor.com/greenGreen Information Flooring Blog by FindAnyFloor.com
13http://blogs.findanyfloor.com/proFlooring Blog for Professional Retailers, Installers and Cleaners by FindAnyFloor.com
14http://blogs.findanyfloor.com/corporateFindAnyFloor.com Official Company Blog by Damien Patton CEO
15http://blog.builddirect.com/greenbuildingGreen Building News and Views
16http://baneclene.blogspot.comBane-Clene Thoughts
17http://blog.builddirect.com/industryinsightsBuilding Into the Future - BuildDirect CEO Jeff Booth
18http://blog.builddirect.com/buildingmaterialsprocurementBuilding Materials and Flooring With BuildDirect Co-Founder Rob Banks
19http://www.mckayflooringblog.comMcKay Flooring: We Love Wood Flooring Blog
20http://www.askthebuildingexperts.comAsk The Building Experts » Columbus, Ohio Area Custom Home Building and Improvement Information
21http://workinggreenrdweis.blogspot.comWorking Green
22http://hardwoodflooringnut.blogspot.comHardwood Flooring Blog - Up To Date Articles, Pictures
23http://www.blog.ultron.com
24http://blog.mybigbobs.comMy Big Bob's Blog
25http://www.infloormation.comInfloormation
26http://www.woolforabetterworld.comWool for a Better World
27http://faq.woodyoulike.co.ukWood You Like F.A.Q. & News
28http://blog.americasfloorsource.comAmerica's Floor Source
29http://blog.carpetsnmore.comCarpets N More
30http://blog.arizonawholesalesupply.comArizona Wholesale Supply
31http://www.reliableremodeler.com/blogReliable Remodeler Blog - Remodeling and Home Improvement Talk
32http://tricycleinc.blogspot.comTricycle Ink // Tricycle Inc
33http://bigbobherself.blogspot.comBig Bob Herself Says Yes
34http://flooringstories.empiretoday.comEmpire Flooring Stories
35http://blog.duralumcarpets.comDuralum Carpets of Stevens Point, Wisconsin
36http://floorcrunch.co.ukFloorcrunch
37http://craigscarpetcleaning.blogspot.comCraig's Carpet Cleaning
38http://carpetgirl.wordpress.comCarpetGirl's Blog
39http://www.colesfineflooring.com/blogColes Fine Flooring Interior Design and Home Improvement Blog
40http://www.mercercarpetone.blogspot.comLet's Talk About Floors
41http://flooringgallery.blogspot.comFlooring Gallery
42http://rscarpet.blogspot.comT/S Carpet and Design Center
43http://hemphillbrett.wordpress.comHemphill's Rugs & Carpets
44http://www.yourfifthwall.comYour Fifth Wall | Insider advice for any room's most important wall—the floor
45http://rugnroll.blogspot.comRug 'n Roll
46http://www.scarletopustrendsblog.co.ukScarlet Opus Trends Blog
47http://www.carpetsbyotto.comCarpets By Otto
48http://www.carpetoneboise.wordpress.comCarpet One Boise’s Blog
49http://www.meridameridian.com/blogMerida Blog
50http://blog.tscarpet.comTS Carpet
51http://blog.mercercarpetone.comLet's Talk About Floors
52http://blog.mckayflooring.co.ukMcKay Flooring Blog — Passionate about real wood flooring
53http://flooringwood111.blogspot.comflooring wood
54http://blog.surfaces.com/Social/surfacesblogSURFACES Blog - SURFACES Blog
55http://expressflooringblog.blogspot.comExpress Flooring Blog
56http://www.floorcoveringblog.comFloor Covering Blog
57http://www.lewisfloorandhome.com/blogLewis Floor & Home Blog - Chicago Hardwood Flooring, Carpet, Tile & More
58http://www.oakengineeredflooring.comOak Engineered Flooring, UK White Wood Floor, Solid Oak Floors
59http://www.thekissbusiness.co.ukThe Kiss Business too (2)
60http://www.newtileflooring.comTile Flooring | Ceramic Tile Floors | Vinyl Floor Tiles
61http://blog.okrentfloors.comO'Krent's Abbey Flooring Center
62http://bpscarpet.blogspot.comDesigning For Life
63http://knoxvilletncarpetcleaning.blogspot.comKnoxvilleTNcarpetCleaning
64http://gregthecarpetman.blogspot.comGreg of Cincinnati Flooring Articles
65http://mohawklaminateflooring.impmyhome.comMohawk Laminate Flooring
66http://areafloors.wordpress.comPortland Flooring Blog
67http://www.flooringsupplyshop.com/blogBlog : Flooring Supply Shop, Flooring and Floors Heating Supply Discount Warehouse
68http://tilerefinishing.tukblog.comTile Refinishing
69http://www.thesolidwoodflooringcompany.com/blogThe Solid Wood Flooring Company
70http://www.brucehardwoodflooring.co.ccBruce Hardwood Flooring
71http://www.ukflooringdirect.co.ukUK Flooring Direct | Carpets, Vinyl, Oak, Solid Wood, Laminate, Bamboo, Cork & Engineered Floors
72http://sergenians.wordpress.comSergenian's Floor Coverings Blog
73http://www.buildinggreen.com/liveBuildingGreen.com LIVE
74http://blog.coit.comCoit Carpet Cleaning Blog - Experience and People You Can trust
75http://www.richcleaner.com/blogJoe Polish & Lisa Wagner’s Rich Cleaner Blog ::: Marketing & Business Building Strategies for the Cleaning & Restoration Industries
76http://indoor-allergies.suite101.comIndoor Allergies
77http://www.qualityfloorsdirect.com/blogQuality Floors Direct —
78http://www.flooringprofessor.com/flooring-blog.htmlflooring blog
79http://www.wideplankflooring.com/blogSurface Blog — Carlisle Wide Plank Floors
80http://www.asktheflooracle.comonlinefloorstore | Ask the Flooracle
81http://www.zabitatz.com/profile/OntheFloorOn the Floor's Page - Zabitatz: Inspiration for YOUR home
82http://johnsoncarpetone.blogspot.comJohnson Carpet One
83http://www.bestwoodfloors.bizHardwood Flooring and Floating Wood Floors
84http://hptyler.blogspot.comHP Tyler
85http://alexandriacarpetone.wordpress.comNorthern Virginia Flooring Bamboo Carpet Wood Tile Green LEED GBC and GSA | Green flooring, FSC Certified, eco friendly LEED floors in Virginia, DC and Maryland.
86http://www.interfaceflorblog.comInterfaceFLOR blog
87http://justinlmorgan.blogspot.comFlooor iiit Maaan!
88http://carpetonefh.blogspot.com Carpet One Floor & Home

Special thanks to eCairn Conversations for powering this analysis.

Hat Tip to Amit Agarwal for How to Embed Tables and Spreadsheet Data in Web Pages which led me to Tableizer!

Image Credit:  Wordle - Social Flooring Index - August 2010 by C.B. Whittemore
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Posted by C. B. Whittemore at 10:24 PM
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29 comments:

  1. Hi Christine,
    You clearly have an in depth understanding of this industry and a key role in that community. It's great that you openly share your results.

    Thanks for mentioning us
    ReplyDelete
  2. Dominique, thank you! I see so much potential with these observations and truly believe that everyone can benefit.

    I'm very excited about how these observations will affect the overall flooring industry blog dynamics.

    Best,
    CB
    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you for sharing this informative blog. It showed the depth of your knowledge in this industry.
    ReplyDelete
  4. Dallas Hardwood Floors, I'm pleased to hear you found this post valuable.

    Thanks for taking the time to comment.

    Best,
    CB
    ReplyDelete
  5. http://blog.cincinnatifloorings.com/
    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Christine...great reserach!
    Can I pass a link of this info onto the Editor of Carpet & Flooring Review magazine in the UK?
    Victoria - www.trendsbog.co.uk
    ReplyDelete
  7. Of those blogs on the list, I would be curious to have them separated into these categories; manufacturers, retailers, and .org like the Carpet and Rug Institute, etc... I am working diligently on my blog and you can add it to the list:

    Kazan Flooring - http://thekazan.blogspot.com/
    ReplyDelete
  8. Victoria, thanks so much for your feedback and I would be thrilled if you passed the link on. I appreciate your thinking of me.

    I look forward to seeing you at Surfaces!

    Best,
    CB
    ReplyDelete
  9. Diane, thanks for suggesting your blog. I'll add it to my database.

    In the previous version of the Social Flooring Index, I broke blogs into categories; the majority are by retailers. However, as I discover relevant insights, I may reintroduce that kind of a breakdown. I appreciate the request.

    Best,
    CB
    ReplyDelete
  10. Great list, noticed some UK ones from the sites I checked. The link power is there, looks good.
    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks, Abbey Carpets UK! I appreciate the comment.

    Best,
    CB
    ReplyDelete
  12. Please include http://www.flor.com/blog, which is the blog for Interface's B-to-C business. It is a standalone business, with products and branding completely separate from the parent company.

    Thanks
    David Mueller
    Marketing Consultant
    ReplyDelete
  13. David, I've just added the Flor.com Blog to my database. Thanks for mentioning it.

    Best,
    CB
    ReplyDelete
  14. Nice list about the flooring blogs, I would like to follow it again. Thanks for providing the list.
    ReplyDelete
  15. Oak Flooring, thanks for your comment. I'm really pleased that you find this list valuable.

    Best,
    CB
    ReplyDelete
  16. Guys, Great article and very very interesting blog. That’s one thing I’m really looking forward. Looking forward to reading more from you next week.
    ReplyDelete
  17. Carpet cleaners DC, thanks for your feedback. I'm glad you find the list interesting. Come back soon.

    Best,
    CB
    ReplyDelete
  18. A fundamental aspect of participating in social media is doing so for social reasons.
    ReplyDelete
  19. Plano Wood Floors, you are absolutely right! How do you see these tools benefiting your business?

    Thanks for visiting.

    Best,
    CB
    ReplyDelete
  20. Really WORK ON YOUR SITE..I AM REALLY IMPRESSED..KEEP UP YOUR QUALITY WORK!!!
    ReplyDelete
  21. Carpet cleaners in md, thanks so very much! Are you finding these type resources more helpful in your business?

    Best,
    CB
    ReplyDelete
  22. This is a good and useful list ... thanks
    ReplyDelete
  23. flooring2go, thanks for the confirmation!

    Best,
    CB
    ReplyDelete
  24. Very informative post.
    Thanks for these site list.
    I am looking forward for your updates.

    Regards,
    Andy Wilson
    ReplyDelete
  25. Andy,

    Thanks for stopping by. I hope to get an update out in the next few weeks.

    Best,
    CB
    ReplyDelete
  26. Congratulations! Your list is impressive. I would like to suggest adding another wood flooring blog to your existing list. This is Wood floor blog. This is the flooring blog of Real Oak Floors, UK.
    ReplyDelete
  27. Thanks realoakfloors1. I've added it.

    Best,
    cb
    ReplyDelete
  28. Great list of flooring and do-it-yourself communities! I look forward to reading through them. In the mean time, another good blog is the FloorsASAP blog here, run by FloorsASAP.com.

    Thanks for sharing!
    ReplyDelete
  29. Thanks, FloorsASAP - you've been added.

    Best,
    CB
    ReplyDelete

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