Pulse - F. A. Q.

• What is the purpose of Pulse?
• The primary purpose of Pulse is to bubble up popular & recent blog posts & news articles that readers are engaging with across the web. Pulse arranges blog posts and news articles by tags/topics, and scores them using 'Pulse Rank'.
• How does Pulse order blog posts ( i.e. what is 'Pulse Rank' ) ?
• Pulse uses the following data sets. The first set of data is generated by Wowzio widgets and badges, which are installed by blogs around the world. Each Wowzio widget ( or badge ) contains a small piece of code, that beacons back to Wowzio each user's engagement data with the blog post that he/she is currently reading.( This is done in an anonymous fashion, we do not store any information about users ). The second set of data is based on the blog post and the corresponding blog's quality. The third set of data is about news feeds, and meta information about their sources. These data sets are combined into a ranking algorithm called 'Pulse Rank', which is used for the default ordering of blog posts on Pulse pages. A user can also sort blog posts by time.
• What are the benefits to a blog of participating in Pulse?
• By participating in Pulse, a blog automatically provides feedback to Pulse of the posts a blog's readers are finding engaging on that blog. Pulse gathers this information from across the blogosphere, and presents a rich, high-quality, real-time view of the blogosphere. Pulse arranges posts by tags, and orders them by 'Pulse Rank' which factors in user's engagement with a blog post, quality of a blog post( or news article ), and recency of the blog post ( or news article ). By participating in Pulse, a blog contributes to Wowzio's meme pool, thus making it easier for other readers to find out what topics and posts are most popular and engaging right now.
  
  As a blog's posts get featured in Pulse, it ( the corr. blog ) gets more visibility & distribution across the web, and Pulse can potentially contribute as a meaningful source for reader acquisition.
• Can you tell us a bit about the "Most Read In" feature in Pulse?
• Absolutely yes, we use the 'Geo-Popularity Platform' to build this feature, click here to find out more.
• How much traffic has Wowzio Pulse send to blogs that participate in it?
• Over a 4 week period( mid-April to mid-May ), Wowzio Pulse send over 1,500,000 referers/visitors to blogs that are part of Wowzio Pulse.
• How can I participate in Pulse?
• The only prerequisite is that you author a blog, that has good quality posts meant for all audiences ( we prohibit adult/mature content in Pulse, see our Terms of Service ). If the target audience of your blog is family and friends, or if you are publishing personal information on your blog, we recommend that you do not participate in Pulse. To participate in Pulse, you can do one of the foll. :
  · Install one of Wowzio's widget ( sample widgets page ) OR
  · Install one of Wowzio's badges ( sample badges page ).
  The above are sample widgets (badges), you will need to install widgets (badges) specific to your blog. Head over to Wowzio's Widget Builder to make widgets (badges) for your blog. You can access Wowzio's Terms of Service by clicking over to our Terms of Service page.
• Can I opt out of Pulse?
• Yes, send an email to pulse [at] wowzio [dot] com stating that you would like Wowzio to discontinue using your blog's rss feed for Pulse, as well as any additional information, including your identity that helps us determine that you are the rightful owner of the blog. Once we confirm your rightful ownership of the blog, your blog's rss feed's use will be discontinued..
• My blog is meant for only a select group of people, what should i do ?
• You should make sure you opt out of Pulse, by following the instructions above, in the 'Can I opt out of Pulse' section. By keeping your blog in Pulse, you make small snippets of your blog posts visible to everyone on the internet, which in your case would not be desirable, nor appropriate.