Kent Newsome posted here on the linking & traffic discussion going on in the blogosphere.  He really came to some good conclusions – at least ones that I agree with.  Traffic and linking is important to a blogger, for most of us it may not be the main reason, but it is a reason.  We all post, link & comment as a way to participate in the blogosphere, to multiple ongoing conversations.

While we may not admit it easily, we do seek traffic or links as a means of acceptance of sorts.  It is important to a blogger, as it is the main way we know we are getting heard, that our opinion is meaningful.  Of course, most of us also have the perspective that we don’t need the traffic, that we don’t need any links.  But I think that would limit the interest of any blog – having no other inputs or views brought to the conversation.
Anyway, check out Kent’s post – its a very interesting perspective.