Written on June 1st, 2005 at 04:06 am by Darren Rowse
Building Blogging Relationships - Positioning Yourself at the Watercooler
This is another post in the building blogging relationships series.
I remember reading two studies a number of years ago that taught me about the power of positioning in social networks when it comes to relationships.
One study did research into who the most well connected, social and relational people were on a floor of offices. The study found that people whose desks were close to highly trafficked areas in an office were those who were best connected with others on the floor. Generally these people were close to entrances, elevators, water coolers or recreational areas etc.
The second study did similar research into which household on streets were most connected in the neighborhood. Once again the research found that it was people who lived on the corners of two streets that disproportionately were more connected and relational than others in the street.
I’ve been pondering these two studies recently and wondering how they might give us some clues about being connected and relational bloggers. I’m not sure exactly where these ‘water cooler’, ’street corner’ places are in the wider blogging community - but I suspect they exist and are emerging. I’d be very interested to get your opinions on where such places might actually be?
Perhaps some of these places might include:
- discussion forums - I know I’ve started some very interesting relationships with other bloggers through forums - they are a place where people actually come to learn, discuss, share etc
- other blogs - Some of my best blogging buddies were made as i read other blogs comments sections. Sometimes something someone says makes so much sense that it’s worth checking out there blog and getting in touch. I guess it’s some of the bigger blogs where you can make the most connections with others.
- group blogs - I’ve not really gotten to involved in these - but blogs like linkfilter and blog critics seem to be places where community can be built and bloggers get to know each other.
It strikes me that these sorts of places might help position you to be more visible as a blogger and lead you into some interesting communities where relationships with other bloggers might emerge. Where else would you suggest?
Read the rest of the building blogging relationships series.
Written on June 1st, 2005 at 02:06 am by Darren Rowse
Introducing My Guest Bloggers
I would like to pause for a moment and acknowledge some people who have gone out of their way to make it possible for me to have a restful holiday.
The following 27 (so far) bloggers responded to my call for guest bloggers on many of my blogs. None of these people owe me anything - all are giving their time freely. All I promised them was a link back from each post they write to their own blog. Some are even blogging on up to 3 of my blogs!
Between this group of people are some names that many regular readers of enternetusers will know - most are daily readers here and Active participants in comments sections. Among them are some fine bloggers in their own right who I’m honored to have writing on my blogs for the next 4 or so weeks.
I’d like to encourage you all to visit some of these bloggers blogs as a little thank you for their work. In doing so they are enabling me to have a real break from blogging which will help make enternetusers better when I return. All of my blogs now have guest authors - there are only three positions left (see bottom of this post if you want to be on this list).
To the bloggers listed below - I’ve already thanked you each - but want to publicly acknowledge the time and effort you’re putting in to lend me a hand. I’m humbled by your response and can’t wait to get home early in July to see what you’ve written!
nb: this list does not include those guest blogging here at enternetusers.net - I’m still waiting on a couple of bloggers to get registered and will publish this list in the next few days.
Stan Hooker
Stephanie Herman
Scott Randol
Arieanna Foley
Michael Nguyen
Paul
Rich Brooks
Dimitri (doing it without links back to his blog)
Ian Pattinson
Rob Lewis
BJ
FMF
Jon
Matthew Thornton
David
Tom Hanna
transitus
Teli Adlam
Cynthia Giles
Colbert
Chris Abraham
Tim
FredonSomething
Andy Merrett
Angelique
Tony
Shane Birley
Tim Flight
Ken
Chrispian
For those who would like to join this list and be a guest blogger I have three positions still remaining open - one on each of:
shoot me an email to get involved.
Written on May 31st, 2005 at 11:05 pm by Darren Rowse
Secrets of WP Theming
Those of you who are WordPress users might be interested in Secrets of WP Theming: Part 1 and article by Chris J. Davis.
Written on May 31st, 2005 at 08:05 am by Darren Rowse
Google Page Rank Reappears
SEO addicts are breathing a sigh of relief today after the Disappearance of Google Page Rank seemingly being rectified in the last few hours. The green bar on the Google Toolbar has returned.
For the average web surfer and blogger the loss of PR would have had little impact but I know a few SEO experts whose businesses rely upon it who will be very relieved today.
Update: Reading between the lines on what ‘Google Guy’ has to say on the WebMasterWorld forum it looks like this was just an upgrade of infrastructure that was timed to coincide with a holiday weekend in the US. It is not an roll out of ‘Trust Rank’ or even an update of PR. Things should be back to normal by now.
Written on May 31st, 2005 at 08:05 am by Darren Rowse
Building Blogging Relationships - Be a Good Host
Another way to Build Blogging Relationships is to be a good host on your blog.
V and I went out to a friend’s home recently for a meal and had one of the best nights we’ve had in a long time simply because of the efforts of our hosts. They went to a lot of trouble to make sure that our night was just perfect on so many levels. Our wine glasses were never empty, they had a wood fire burning, they took genuine interest in us and asked a lot of stimulating questions, they offered us the best seats in their living room, they served some wonderful food and basically spoilt us rotten all night. As I look back on the night I realize that because of all of the little things that they did, V and I went home feeling very special and wanting to return the favor and have these friends over to our home as soon as we could.
As bloggers we have an opportunity to make a similar impression upon our readers as our friends made upon us that night.
Here are a few things that could help in being a good blogging host:
- acknowledge your readers - I’m constantly amazed how some blogs that I come across are written in a tone that barely acknowledges their readers. They are written in a very non personal or engaging tone - they present themselves as being ‘the’ answer to every question and they can be very ‘cold’ and arrogant. Maybe this is about the personality of the blogger or perhaps it fits with the blog’s goals - but I rarely return to such blogs.
- reply to comments and emails - ok this can be difficult when your blog gets popular - but give your readers a little respect and time by going out of your way to show them that you’ve noticed the way they’ve gone out of their way to interact with you. We can all improve on this area - but I’m always amazed by what impact a simply thank you email to someone who has left a comment can have.
- create a positive vibe - I’m not really sure how to word this - but I’ve noticed lately that I’m more and more drawn to positive bloggers than negative ones. Life is too short to hang out with grumbling, sour, bitchy people (of which there are many in the blogging community) - I’d rather hang out in an inspired, fun, optimistic and constructive environment. I suspect that when you create this type of blog you’ll draw others to you. Of course you can still have a bad hair day and do the occasional rant - but ask yourself if your posts are written in a positive or negative tone and what impression that might be giving your readers?
- link generously - perhaps one of the most powerful relationship building tools in blogging is the link. Links send traffic, they build page rank, they tell another bloggers ‘I’ve noticed you’ and they can actually affirm what another blogger has written. Links send people away from your blog but in my opinion they give back a lot more in the long term.
- engage your reader - one of the most powerful things you can do on a blog is engage with your reader. Many bloggers write in a tone that leaves little room for this. They write posts that are so comprehensive that there is little need for people to write comments. Here at enternetusers.net I write more questions than I do on any other blog that I write. I constantly ask for comments, feedback, ideas and interaction - and you know what? This is by far my most commented upon blog. People like to be included, they like to be consulted, they like to be given a chance to give answers. In doing so you’re building a blog not only on your wisdom but your readers also - and in doing so your blog will be a much richer reader for all concerned.
I’m sure there are many more ways of being a good blogging host - feel free to tell us how you do it at your blog in comments below.
Read the rest of the building blogging relationships series.
Written on May 31st, 2005 at 04:05 am by Darren Rowse
Blog Layout
Jim from Blog Kits shot me an email last week saying that he thought it would be interesting to do a post asking readers what their favorite blog layout was.
So….
What is your favorite blog layout?
Do you prefer 2 columns, 3 columns or some other format? What are the advantages of the different formats that you’ve tried?
I think it depends upon the blog you’re running. Most of mine are a 3 column format mainly because I find 3 columns gives more options for placing advertising, affiliate programs etc. Two columns can make it hard to fit ads, navigation and other blog buttons and features in.
The downside of a 3 column layout is that it can make your blog look quite cluttered.
What do you prefer? Feel free to leave links to blogs that you like (or dislike) the layout of.
Written on May 31st, 2005 at 12:05 am by Darren Rowse
Building Blogging Relationships - Be a Good Guest
Connected to my last posts on the building blogging relationships series is the idea that sometimes the best place to build relationships with others is on ‘their’ turf.
As I look at some of my most fruitful blogging relationships I notice that many of the best interactions that we have had have when I’ve been willing to have them on the other blogger’s blog.
As bloggers we have a choice when we read something on another blog that we want to bounce off and interact with. We can either take a quote and write about it on our own blog starting our own conversation on that topic - or we can leave a comment on the blog where the conversation is already happening and interact with the blogger concerned there. In a sense you’re taking the conversation and being a good guest at their blog.
Whilst I have nothing against the first option of continuing a conversation on your own blog (this is part of what makes blogging great) - sometimes I wonder if this can be a little selfish. On occasions I’ve seen this happen in a way where the original blogger has their thread hijacked by a second (often bigger) blogger. There may be a link back to the original idea - but it can be done in a way that virtually ignores and overshadows the original post.
Another approach that I’ve used from time to time is to send my readers to other blogs to have a conversation. I don’t do this all of the time - but one way you can make an impression on another blogger is to honor their hard work by interacting with them on their own blog and bringing your own readers along with you.
I still remember the first time I did this intentionally - I linked to an interesting post of another blog and encouraged my readers to go leave their thoughts - at the same time I manually closed my comments section down on the post to stop my readers being tempted to comment on the other person’s post on my blog.
Two days later the other blogger wrote me a wonderful email thanking me for what I’d done - our friendship remains to this day. I doubt this would have happened if I’d simply linked to him and then kept the rich discussion that ensued on my own blog.
Read the rest of the building blogging relationships series.
Written on May 30th, 2005 at 09:05 pm by Darren Rowse
Arieanna goes Pro
Arieanna is becoming a enternetusers this week. She’s put in her resignation and starting out on this new exciting path of blogging and consulting. She writes:
‘So, here is a wrap up of some of what I’ll be doing. I’ll continue to write on all of our blogs, and maybe add a few more to the “Blogaholics Network.” I’m going to ramp up the services offered by our ‘official’ company name: Blogaholics Consulting. Our consulting site will continue to be Blogging Help. Some of the services that I’ll be offering include:
- blog writing on pretty much any topic
- blog setup
- SEO with blogs
- training sessions (blog intro, blogging basics, listening to the blogosphere)
- public speaking
- event blogging
- media purchases for blogs’
I’ve really admired Arieanna’s approach to blogging in the past few months since discovering her work at Blogaholics and Blogging Help and in the past few weeks have engaged her services Digital Photography Blog to sell me some advertising. So far she’s put together an advertising kit (pdf) that has already found me one potential advertiser.
So if you need a pro blogger for one of your sites - need some consulting work done - or just want to know what it takes to ‘Go Pro’ Arieanna might be something for you to get to know.
Written on May 30th, 2005 at 03:05 pm by Darren Rowse
Arguments for getting rid of comments
James has a good post with some Arguments for getting rid of comments (he’s going to do another balancing one tomorrow on why comments are essential features for blogs). I’ve heard each of them before except for this one:
‘The more comments you have the less links you’ll get - Comments lose you ranking
I’m quite serious about this. Do you really think that Dave Winer would get so many links if he allowed comments of his site? To take this down to a smaller (and perhaps more important) level, say there’s a writer who you’re really into who posts some really interesting material but doesn’t allow comments, if you want to respond then you’ve gotta do it on your blog, which gives you more links, a wider audience and…’
It’s an interesting argument and one I’d not really thought about before. There is some sense in it - rather than have the conversation on your own blog - not allowing comments forces people to take it to theirs with links back to you. On the opposing side I think you’d find that a lesser percentage of people would do this than leave comments - thus in taking this approach you might build your own blog’s ranking a little but you kill the potential conversations you might have.
I’m a massive fan of comments and value the learning that I do from interacting with my readers.
Written on May 30th, 2005 at 01:05 pm by Darren Rowse
Building Blogging Relationships - Availability and Accessibility
Two weeks ago I started a series on Building Blogging Relationships with Blogging in Formation and a post on Attitude - this week I’m going to pick up and finish the series with a few more posts.
I was talking with a friend a few weeks ago about relationships - particularly about his singleness. He’d been in a relationship for 4 years until six months ago when it unfortunately ended. As we chatted he reflected how that in the 4 years of relationship he’d become quite an insular and ‘coupley’ (his word) person. He didn’t go out to places where single people hung out and he’d spent less time with single friends. The challenge he faces is to ‘get out there and meet someone’ (his words). This means going to places that he’s not gone before, getting out of his comfort zone and meeting new people.
It strikes me that in order to build relationships with other bloggers that you need to put yourself in a position where it’ll be possible to meet them. Many of us as bloggers can become quite comfortable in the blogging cliques that we belong to - we know a handful other bloggers that have a similar interest to us and are quite content to let this be our ‘network’.
Whilst this might be fine - I wonder if we limit our potential by such an insular approach - do we run the risk of becoming a little stale? Perhaps meeting some new bloggers might bring a freshness to our blogging?
When I started enternetusers.net I decided to get out of the rut I was in as a blogger in only interacting with a select group of other bloggers. Here is two things I did to meet some new people:
- Publish Instant Messaging details - I added my IM details to my contact page and mentioned a few times my details. It was amazing to see how got in touch. Of course now I have so many bloggers sending me Instant Messengers that I have to make myself unavailable from time to time - but the new contacts I’ve made are wonderful.
- Visit Forums in and outside my niche - There are discussion forums for virtually every topic known to humankind. Join a few, add your blog to your signature, Actively participate and you might just find yourself making a new friend or two.
Both of these strategies are not about contacting specific bloggers - rather they are about getting yourself ‘out there’ and interacting with a wider community of people.
Update: Just keep in mind - if you make yourself available by publishing your details - make sure you’re willing to talk to people. As I mentioned above - I have a lot of people IM me now. At times it is difficult to respond to all in depth - but I always try. I know a few other bloggers who always brag about being accessible to anyone via IM - however despite making their IM details public they are yet to respond to any of my conversation starters. You can probably do more damage than good by doing this.
Read the full series on Building Blogging Relationships
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