I actually like using the technique taught in last year's 30DC for "White Hat" pingbacks.
I use this a lot, and it does not take long at all. I do not recall if it was hit upon this year,
and if it was I think it was at the very end (?) but what I do is
- add a new keyword for whatever it is I am writing about in the article,
- click on the Promotion Module, & check mark all of the available sources I want to use
- click on "Find Backlinks"
- When I get the backlink results I click on "Analyze All"
- Sort the results by "PB" (pingbacks)
- Select a few of the results after checking out the site - NOT enough results? Click "MORE"
- "Mark" those selections
- Check mark "Open in New Window"
- Click on Copy Visual
- I then add these (usually as My Site Name's Recommended Reading: to the very bottom of the article
I do check out the sites to be sure they are relative and reflect well on my site, which is simple to do within MS. I, of course, don't usually use it to promote my main competitors. Its an easy way to get pingbacks while giving my readers more info at the same time. I feel, in the end, they will thank ME for it.
While a lot of sites are no-follow, a lot of those allow pingbacks, and they are easy to utilize using this technique.