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The Concept of Trackbacks

by Tom Johnson on Jan 5, 2007
categories: blogging technical-writing

Trackbacks are one of the most interesting features of blogs. Basically if I write a post that links to another person's post, my comment actually appears in the comments section of that other person's post -- even though I didn't actually make the comment on their site!

Here's an example. I posted a note on my blog saying to check out my latest podcast, which is on idratherbewriting.com. My post actually then appears as an excerpted comment in the comments section of the post I linked to.
trackbacks

Additionally, let's say that I just post a link to another person's site. On my admin panel, I see an incoming link from that site. Blogs are more aware of each other than traditional websites.

About Tom Johnson

Tom Johnson

I'm an API technical writer based in the Seattle area. On this blog, I write about topics related to technical writing and communication — such as software documentation, API documentation, AI, information architecture, content strategy, writing processes, plain language, tech comm careers, and more. Check out my API documentation course if you're looking for more info about documenting APIs. Or see my posts on AI and AI course section for more on the latest in AI and tech comm.

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