Are we all just whores?

I’ve said this in the past – I’m no techie. I’m a regular guy who started out on the journey of blogging because I can see the potential in it for me as an individual, as the director of a PR and design company, and as a former journalist, curious about what was changing in communications.
But having looked at a lot of successful blogs – and by successful I mean those with the most links (I have a handful!) - blogging reminds me of the public phone boxes in London. Or for that matter any major city.
For those unfamiliar with the UK capital, in London if you’re looking for some, shall we say some visceral pleasure, the phone box – no, not the internet - is where you will find it. In a good old Post Office phone box on the Tottenham Court Road you can find sexual pleasures for all tastes… Male, Female, Black, White, Chinese, Mongolian, S&M, Anal… the list goes on.
I hasten to add I am not an afeciando in this matter.
No, this is just a torturous metaphor to make a point – on which I would like some guidance – about blogging. As with all websites the point seems to be about getting as high on the Google list as possible, or any blog listing. Now, I recognise my humble rambling doesn’t deserve to be at the top of any list but I do wonder at the mechanism by which the top blogs achieve their status. Is it because of the quality of the content? Or is simply having the chutzpah to request a link?
I look at the bloggers I admire - Gaping Void, Dilbert, That Chap, - and marvel at the number of people linking to their sites. However, I do understand the links are there because of the quality of the content.
BUT – why are so many mundane sites getting such great coverage when their blogs are the equivalent of a teenage onaist?
Which brings me back to the phone box metaphor – am I supposed to prostitute my self and get my card in as may blogs as possible to make my blog a success? I hope not, and to be honest I don’t have that much stamina.
Am I being naïve? Possibly. All views welcome but I would prefer people came to visit me to hear what I had to say rather than how many calling cards I had out on in the blogosphere or in the Tottenham Court Road for that matter. What do you think?