Better targeting is what is behind the calls for better filters, too much Twitter noise and pruning followers! Social Media sites are only useful to those who can figure out how to reduce the noise and hone in on their interests.

Users are NOT who should be providing a targeted experience; the SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ARE!!! Want to know how?

It isn’t rocket science. It is a simple concept although there will be some complex behind-the-scenes workings required. There are many others like me who would be glad to provide input and volunteer as beta testers. FriendFeed knows who we are. Anyone else can ask me if they’re interested.

While advanced users can find a way to use these services to create their own niche Twitter accounts or geo-target their reach the way I suggested in Find Twitter Users in Specific Niches and Locations, they simply shouldn’t need to do that. Computers are ideal for data mining and formatting the results for us!

How about it FriendFeed? Twitter? Any other takers? Here are some examples that will help you lead the pack and start generating the income necessary to expand and succeed:

1. Feeds by Interest - instead of subscribing to users let us subscribe and share by interest. Whatever people love …offer http://FriendFeed.com/favorite interest where /favoriteinterest can be anything from fishing to jazz to Internet marketing.
2. At Twitter, let us toggle between following individuals and subjects. Why not offer http://Twitter.com/favoriteinterest? Again, this can be any interest.

In both of the above examples people can quickly and easily listen in on EXACTLY what they’re interested in and most important:

You can offer advertisers what they want: an audience of potential buyers.

Before anyone automatically starts screaming “no more ads” honestly ask yourself whether you would TRULY mind seeing ads that are specifically about what you are truly and sincerely passionate about. You can still tune them out.

And - this is my favorite part - those ads will prompt opinions, recommendations, warnings and discussions about the products and services advertised!

That will likely scare advertisers to death. They’ll have to get over it. There is no way they’re going to be able to control public opinion any more anyway - so they may as well learn to TRULY interact with us and start actually FIXING the issues that plague their businesses to increase Customer Satisfaction.

It should delight consumers because no amount of Reputation Management can overcome the vastly larger numbers of customers willing to share their opinions. The Social Networking site can even offer links under the ads that:

1. Return the latest comments on that brand or product
2. Aggregate online reviews from any combination of major sources (Google, Yahoo, Microsoft Live, Merchant Circle, Insider Pages, Yellowpages, etc.)
3. Offer links to other review services (ConsumerReview, ReviewMate, Epinions, etc.)

One reason so many consumers buy from major sellers is they aren’t aware of any alternatives. FriendFeed or Twitter have the power to change that:

• Make it easy for others to find those recommendations of your favorite small business.
  
• Offer those small businesses that can afford it advertising targeted specifically to THEIR niche or their location.

Yes I said location! If a Social Networking site REALLY wants to prosper they can offer targeting by subject / interest AND location! Just imagine:

• Being able to instantly find the latest Tweets on great restaurants in any city or town.
• Car breaks down while traveling? Check for trusted mobile mechanics ANYWHERE!
• Considering about buying that big ticket item? Don’t - until you see what buyers REALLY think!

Doesn’t this idea sound familiar to some? This is exactly the same concept that made ppc advertising the cash cow it is. There is no reason Social Networking sites can not apply it just as well - or even better!

When FriendFeed or Twitter or any other Social Networking site starts offering a targeted experience with obvious consumer benefits they will eventually become as well known as Google is today.

The only questions now are which one is going to step up and do it first and who is going to assist them to get it done. If FriendFeed or Twitter don’t currently have the resources maybe they can throw in together or recruit some collaborators. I know some brilliant people who were involved in the Overture startup.

They might even Find Venture Capital or an Investment Angel to build such a system - there shouldn’t be any shortage of investors who wish they owned Google AdWords. I just hope they’ll keep it private and honest instead of taking the money and running.  Isn’t there anyone who would rather keep the Golden Goose instead of letting her die after an IPO insisted on in an Exit Strategy?

Monetizing Social Networking:

• How Twitter Could Monetize (Jan 5, 2009) These are NOT good ways IMHO; no wonder we hate ads!
• Overnight Success and FriendFeed Needs (Jan 5, 2009)
• Reddit Figured Out How to Monetize Social News; Will Digg Listen? (Jan 3, 2009)
• What FriendFeed Needs to Do to Grow and Keep New Users (Jan 1, 2009)
• Dell Helps Define Twitter’s Business Model (Dec 22, 2008)
• Creating a Twitter Business Model (Dec 17, 2008)
• Tumblr’s CEO Brainstorms MicroBlog Monetization (Dec 16, 2008)
• Twitter Business Model; Access to Non-Public Data for Businesses (Video) (Dec 14, 2008)
• Why Does Twitter’s Business Model Matter to You? (Nov 23, 2008)
• Suggests Monetized Links at Twitter (Oct 30, 2008)
• FriendFeed’s Business Model Will Look Like Google’s (May 11, 2008) - Similar idea here.

Venture Capital

• The Myth of Venture Capital

If you don’t take time to check out posts like that one - those with enormous potential to spread virally, you may miss a huge opportunity. Who might have visited you from that one link? Or shared your latest or best blog post far and wide?

If you didn’t even read it you would have missed this real jewel way down in the comments:

BloggingMom67 said “type in your town/city (country may work, not sure) you can find out the top tweeters in your community by rank. (Rank is based on number of followers verus followees and how frequently you tweet).”

Many may have missed the significance of this comment - a key to Twitter Local! Go to Twitter Grader Search, type in any location and you can find the top 100 Twitter users indicating they are in that area. Why should you care?

1. You may want to ask them something specific to that geographic location.
2. You might want to create a Twitter profile for your area to make it easier for others to connect.
3. If your business is localized you may want to reach out specifically to others in your community.

To create a Geo-Local Twitter connector, someone has to be willing to set it up. To show you how to do it I just created Twitter DallasMetro and FriendFeed DallasMetro. Ideally I would also set up a WordPress blog but for now the URL in the Twitter account is for the FriendFeed account.

Using the search above I’ve already started following major Twitter users known to be in the Dallas metro area. Others are likely to follow who are interested and soon these DallasMetro Twitter and FriendFeed accounts can become major resources for anyone interested in using them.

While it is best to jump in immediately when an opportunity like the TwiTips Niche Twitter Lists gets announced, as long as comments are still open it is not too late. That post is so popular and has so many incoming links that it will continue to drive traffic - and send YOU incoming links - for years to come.  Head over and add YOUR Twitter List!

While you’re in list mode why not add your FriendFeed List to our FriendFeed Friends Challenge? Don’t know how to use FriendFeed yet? All you need to know can be found linked from our post How Using FriendFeed Benefits You - Don’t Miss These Top FriendFeed Users.

If you like Twitter you’ll LOVE FriendFeed - especially if you have your own blog.

I was just about to dig back into Google Analytics when I saw that Derek had posted his Top Ten Referring Blogs.  While his blog is older and more established than this one, many will be surprised to see GrowMap coming in as the blog that sent the fourth highest amount of traffic to DerekSemmler.com.

His top referring blog is Blog Blazers: 40 Top Bloggers Share Their Secrets to Creating a High-Profile, High-Traffic and High-Profit Blog. Although this is another new blog it is dedicated to the book of the same name. I would love to see their analytics as I suspect they were able to drive so much traffic because so many bloggers and Social Media users shared it far and wide.

A bigger surprise to more will be that both FriendFeed and Twitter send more traffic to this blog than Google (showing up at third and fourth). Directly typing in the URL was first; the URL in emails I send was fifth followed by TwiTip.com, Louis Gray, StumbleUpon and TucsonSeoSolutions. The Yahoo search engine came in a distant eleventh.

Tip for all bloggers: comments left in blogs can be a significant source of traffic, especially when a particular post becomes popular at one or more Social Networking sites. The blog doesn’t have to already have major traffic or be well known as Social Networking sites can send hundreds to tens of thousands of visitors to any page that gets widely shared.

Those who build teams of collaborators (or acquire the solutions created by such teams) will have advantages going it alone can not even begin to approach. In Is Blogging Keeping You Poor (posted at CopyBlogger) author Jonathan Morrow wrote:

“One common problem with the do-it-yourself work ethic is that you spend so much time doing all of the basics that you never get to the really important tasks. In the case of bloggers, we invest all of our time into getting attention, but many of us never get around to monetizing that attention.” [Bold and Italics mine.]

While he is speaking specifically about monetizing, I want to point out what a tremendous amount of work is involved in offering a truly world-class blog - and MOST of what is needed behind-the-scenes is NOT the blogger’s core business!

This includes such aspects as hosting, design, plug-ins, widgets and design (logo, slogan, color scheme, layout, and the visible aspects of plug-ins).

BEST BLOG DESIGN CHALLENGES:

Maybe you have the skills to install, host, maintain and design your own blog - but is that REALLY the best use of your time? Have you considered what else could take your blog to the next level? Have you adequately addressed all of these?:

• Recommended pages such as about, contact, privacy policy, etc.
• Design optimized for usability with optimum navigation
• Compatibility with other browsers and operating systems
• Accessibility and Accessibility Issues Due to WordPress Theme Design
• Validating - What have you changed that no longer validates?

Suppose you manage to complete all of the above? The next update or plug-in you add could break some of it. Wouldn’t it be better to put together a group of people who pool their knowledge and resources and create one or more Perfect WordPress Themes that include all of the optimum upgrades?

BENEFITS TO THE COLLABORATORS:

• Better design, testing, and upgrades
• Work with and learn from the very best
• Time to focus on your own specialties

What I’m proposing is a joint venture to design one or more WordPress Themes. Each participant would be permitted to use the design(s) on their own blogs and projects. The collaborators could decide to sell the themes and turn-key hosted packages using them with any income shared by those who contributed the most and provide installation, hosting, and maintenance.

I volunteer input and beta testing, knowledge of usability, online marketing and to spread the word using social networking. I also seek to provide free promotion and recommendations to the experts involved. I am not interested in deriving any income from such a collaboration; it is enough to me that more people benefit from turn-key WordPress blogs.

If anyone knows of truly optimized WP Themes that already exist or any groups already doing this please comment. If you are an expert or know one who may be interested we’d love to hear from you. Join us in the WordPress Theme Joint Venture room at FriendFeed.

RESOURCES ON COLLABORATING:

• Real Collaboration
• Why Strategic Collaboration is the Secret to 21st Century Success
• Global Mass Collaboration
• How I Highjacked CopyBlogger

WORDPRESS REFERENCE RESOURCES:

• WordPress Advanced Topics

Although the true meaning of Christmas is infinitely more important, the holidays do provide the perfect excuse to give anyone a gift for any reason:

• In appreciation for assistance they’ve given you
• Because you truly enjoy their company
• To serve as a regular reminder that you’re in their life

Even if you suspect that someone may be giving you a gift to enhance their own business relationship with you, wouldn’t you still appreciate the thought? I believe most people would - especially if the gift were thoughtfully chosen just for them. If there are relationships you would like to strengthen, read on.

We are not talking about promotional gifts sold in bulk although those are a good idea for promoting a business. Today we are talking about selecting a gift specifically for a particular person - something useful that they will use and that will also remind them that you were thinking of them.

I have pulled up dozens of articles on this subject and found them less than useful, so I’m going to offer my own suggestions on what I believe would make excellent business gifts - things I would appreciate receiving and would use myself.

Disclaimer: These links are to an online gift store owned by a long-time friend. This is not a paid advertisement and they are not affiliate links (although he does offer many affiliate programs and I am not opposed to using them).

I have worked with him for years and recommend him here and elsewhere because he has always been my favorite client. He is honest, dependable, and offers exceptional service. He is also intelligent and his business model allows him to offer quality products at very competitive prices. You can confirm that others share my evaluation of him by reading his testimonials.

So, yes it will benefit him if you buy from his store - but it will also benefit YOU as much or more.

That out of the way, here are some items I believe would enhance your business relationships and help you grow your business (which is, after all, what the GrowMap blog is all about).

Business Card Holders

Business Card Holders - Who doesn’t carry business cards these days? I have never seen a selection larger than the amazing variety they carry.

Many - probably most - can be engraved with a special message, their name, or monogrammed. I chose this one from the hundreds or maybe even thousands they offer for the distinctive color and room on the back for three lines of engraving.

If you want at least twenty-five you can even have your company logo and business name on the front as shown in this image and engrave a personal message on the back.

In the “old days” Corporations used to give engraved gold or silver Cross or Colibri Pens as performance awards or after so many years of service. Get free engraving on their entire selection of personalized pens and save 34% off on all Cross pens left in stock.

Laser Pen Projects the Time

Know someone who could use a new toy for their presentations? Check out the laser pointers from $10 up to $689 for the Phire Blue Light Laser Pointer. That is some expensive light, isn’t it?

They even have a time projecting red laser. Not sure what you’d do with it (check the time in the dark?) but someone else must know, right?

WIth the number of road warriors traveling and presenting you’re bound to know someone who could use a laser pointer. $10 isn’t much to spend to enhance a relationship with your favorite presenter.

Desktop Alarm Clock Organizer

For people that spend time in an office choose from these practical desk accessories:

1. Desktop Business Card Holders - unique styles - some with clocks - from $13-$230
2. Desktop Pen and Clock Sets - Cross, Movado, and Bluestone Designs
3. Inspirational Desktop Sculptures - unusual items including sailboats and horses and gifts for golfers
4. Blackberry Holders, PDA Stands, Cell Phone Caddies
5. Desktop Organizers - many with Howard Miller TableTop clocks

Atomic Travel Alarm Clock

For those who travel here are some ideas to make traveling more fun:

1. Coffee and Tea Travel packs with insulated stainless steel thermos bottles in totes, duffels, or travel packs. (While these don’t show engraving options you could ask if they could be.  They were a good idea for those who commute so we’ve included them here anyway.)
2. Eliminate the time and stress of changing between time zones with an Atomic Radio Controlled Travel Alarm Clock that changes itself for you. They have a nice selection starting at only $24 with three Atomic Travel Alarm Clocks that can be engraved.
3. While actually embossed rather than engraved, someone who travels will appreciate quality leather toiletry bags and travel grooming kits.
4. Make the hassle of airport check-in easier with Passport Holders and Airline Ticket Holders.  ($27 and up)

If you know someone on a more personal level there are far more gifts than I’ve mentioned here.  I created a post in a gift idea blog I’m developing that explains all the reasons I recommend Executive Gift Shoppe and provides links to even more of their products.

See anything you like? Would you be interested in reviewing any of the gifts? Would you like to WIN free gifts or gift certificates? Leave a comment so we’ll know and we’ll be in touch.

Your tiny efforts could make the difference for some between struggling and thriving.

Here is just one example and stats on the enormous numbers of people who could potentially be affected:

Thomas sent me a nice little note at Twitter which led to all of this activity:

• Viewed his TferThomas Twitter profile and then visit his Thoughts and Twitters by Thomas blog.
• I liked his quote of the day so I shared it and the link to his Twitter so others could follow him if they also liked it.
• I read his post about Paying it Forward
• I like that idea and what he had to say about it so I shared it at FriendFeed.
• Within a couple of hours Rob Michael indicated he liked what I shared which then shared it in his atmostrio FriendFeed feed.

Thomas had no idea that his friendly message would start all this. Rob didn’t know that his own music blog would gain more visibility online because he took a micro-second to add a like to what I shared. No one knows who else will see one of these links in the Web that all started with one hello.

What else could happen? Do you know how many other Social Networking sites there are? Hundreds! Most people use at least several. I’ve seen my FriendFeed links spread to all of these:

1. Google Reader
2. StumbleUpon
3. Facebook
4. MySpace
5. Other blogs
6. ReadBurner
7. Blog Catalog
8. Twitterly
9. Toluu
10. RSSmeme
11. Backtype
12. There are bound to be more I didn’t happen to see or have forgotten

The posts went circling around the socialsphere ending up back at Twitter and FriendFeed and circling back out again through those Social Networking services and more.

If you think it is because I had accounts on all of those you would be incorrect. I never heard of several of them before what I did somewhere ended up over there too.

Even if YOU only use one Social Networking site what you do can have far-reaching implications.

All it takes is for ONE person who sees what you do to share it with others. What if that one person is Guy Kawasaki? Or Robert Scoble? Or Louis Gray? Or Mike Fruchter? They each have thousands of people who read what they share. You don’t have to know any of them; you only have to know someone they read. It pays to be friendly with everyone because you can never know whose ear THEY may have.

Have you ever noticed that everyone jumps on anything the famous post? Let’s take Darren Rowse’s TwiTips post Construct a Top Ten Must Follow Twitter List for example. It has garnered 161 comments to date.

It may be wise to consider how much reach the less famous bloggers may have before passing up any opportunities they offer such as our own Top Ten FriendFeed Friends Challenge. Some may be serious and know what they’re doing.

Consider these numbers for FriendFeed Challenge participants from TwinFluence and compare them with your own (just type in any Twitter user’s name to see these, yours and anyone else’s numbers):

• GrowMap - GrowMap’s Rank: #1,535 (87%) Reach: 642,569
  
• Derek Semmler - dereksemmler’s Rank: #993 (92%) Reach: 882,181
• Tamar - tamar’s Rank: #79 (99%) Reach: 3,046,872
• Louis Gray - louisgray’s Rank: #79 (99%) Reach: 2,941,752
• Mike Fruchter - fruchter’s Rank: #2,423 (80%) Reach: 453,035
• LadyBug Heather aka hedwyg - #3,972 (67%) Reach: 281,009
• Joe Dawson - joedawson’s Rank: #1,990 (83%) Reach: 527,105

Note that GrowMap only opened a Twitter account about November 20, 2008 - twenty days ago - and already has more reach than 87% of all Twitter accounts. No technology was used; we simply recognize who knows what they’re talking about and applied our awareness of how computer systems and Social Networking work instead.

It is no coincidence that these specific bloggers entered the challenge even though they are already very influential in their own right.

How do you think they BECAME influential and well known?

If you would like to grow your blog or business, emulate the actions of those who are already successful at doing so - follow their lead!

Even if YOU do not have the amount of online time some of us do you CAN benefit from OUR time by participating in what we’re doing full time.

A good place to start would be to follow all of the above at FriendFeed, Twitter and elsewhere. Read their blogs at FriendFeed or your favorite RSS reader. We’ve sped up that process by providing all their links below:

• GrowMap RSS Feed ~ GrowMap on Twitter ~ GrowMap on FriendFeed
• DerekSemmler Blog ~ DerekSemmler RSS FEED ~ DerekSemmler on Twitter ~ DerekSemmler at FriendFeed
• Tamar at Twitter ~ Tamar at FriendFeed - Tamar writes for so many blogs you’ll have to check them out in her FriendFeed feed by clicking on the orange feed icon for each one.
• Louis Gray’s Blog ~ Louis Gray RSS Feed ~ Louis Gray at Twitter ~ Louis Gray at FriendFeed
• Mike Fruchter’s Blog ~ Mike Fruchter RSS Feed ~ Mike Fruchter at Twitter ~ Mike Fruchter at FriendFeed
• LadyBug Heather Blog ~ hedwyg at Twitter ~ hedwyg at FriendFeed
• Joe Dawson Blog ~ Joe Dawson at Twitter ~ Joe Dawson at FriendFeed

TIP: Hold down the control key to open each link in a new tab to quickly act on all these links.

Before you go, do you know how long it takes to add all those links to a blog post? Do you know WHY I spent the time to offer you all those links? Because I want YOU to be more successful and the time I invested can now save all those who read this their valuable time.

YOU could be among this select group by simply entering our FriendFeed Challenge!

I know you’re busy but consider the seed you’re planting today and what it can reap for you later. If you can’t add them now, do come back and add them later.

And remember to enter our FriendFeed Challenge so others can find you. How can we blog about what you’re up to and share your posts at FriendFeed and Twitter if you never introduce yourself?

P.S. Did you notice the links to the Social Networking sites numbered 1-12 above? They are each to an article that helps you get started with that Social Media site. We’ll especially want to know how to use Backtype to keep track of all our comments left across the blogosphere.

MORE ON READBURNER:

• Ten Top New Web Services of 2008 and Their 2009 Forecasts
  
• ReadBurner Fired Back Up with Revamped GUI, Reader Integration

Just go to Twitter Search and type in what you want to know about right now. You’ll see the results of any Tweet that included the keywords you searched on plus how long ago each message was posted. Want some ideas on what to do with it?

Twitter Search Ideas:

1. Search on your “location” and find others talking about where you are.
2. Maybe you want to do some “online shopping”? Type it in and ask others where they like to shop.
3. Wish you knew of a good cause to support? Type in charity ideas to get personal recommendations. (Try “animal rescue”, “feed the hungry”, “clean water”, “charity” or “favorite charity”).
4. Want the latest on a current news event direct from someone close to that location?
5. Looking to find the perfect cufflinks, business card holders, engraved gifts or any other gift idea? Ask other Twitter users where they shop and why. (If I’m online and see your request I’d personally point you to the URLs I linked here.)
6. Do you sell something? Do regular searches to see who is looking for what you offer. Answer their questions live. As long as you’re not a pushy salesperson they’ll probably appreciate the assistance.
7. Have a particular area of expertise? Why not see who is searching for what you know and offer them links to the solutions they’re seeking. (Offer both yours and others.)
8. Are you writing a new blog post and interested in more related links to add? Try searching on your latest topic to see what others have shared. You might find the perfect finishing touch for your post.

Put your search words in quotes to hone in on the best results. Use your imagination and try many different phrases. Remember what works for you and make it a regular activity. Oh, and remember to leave YOUR ideas on using Twitter Search in the comments - links are do follow and always welcome.

Don’t forget to follow us at Twitter and FriendFeed so we can follow you back.

Tips for FriendFeed Posts Others Will Love to Share:

1. Found a new writer you really enjoy or a best-of or new post at one of your favorite blogs? Select their best or most recent and relevant post.
2. Highlight an excerpt that you most agree with or that reflects what that article covers.
3. If the first excerpt was short you may wish to use more than one shorter excerpt. Copy and paste more from the text after the first excerpt. I connect these with three dots (…) and be sure to add appropriate quotation marks.
4. Click on the Share on FriendFeed bookmarklet.
5. IMPORTANT!!! Wait…and wait…and possibly wait some more until the excerpt and title appear in the bookmarklet. Do NOT click on an image or do anything else until it is done or you’ll be starting over. If you’re impatient like me, switch to another tab or computer and do something else while it loads.
6. Check the Title - if it doesn’t include the Title from the post or a good description of what is found there CHANGE IT.
7. Point at all available images and select the one that best reflects the author or article you’re sharing. Don’t click on any image that doesn’t have a blue border and the “Share an image on FriendFeed” text in the top left corner as those will not work and again, you’ll be starting over. Sometimes there are no images you can use. If you’re feeling generous you might send them the link to my FriendFeed Quick Tip for Getting More Traffic from Social Networking.
8. Click Post and your optimized FriendFeed shared item will appear in your FriendFeed thread.
9. If you have more to say about what you just linked in consider adding your own comments to get the discussion started at FF.

You can see plenty of examples by visiting GrowMap at FriendFeed. One that uses all of the above tips including more than one excerpt is for Mission Driven Marketing - Emotionally Connecting with Your Target Audience.

The FriendFeed bookmarklet did NOT pick up their title Spin on Cause Marketing Strategy Stirs Controversy from their post so it is important to add a title for them when sharing. Often I use their titles; sometimes I use a different angle. One may increase SEO value while the second enlarges their target audience so I believe both have merit.

I hope you can see now that what excerpts, images, and titles you select plus the comments you make add great value to what you share.  These all combine to make it more likely that others will read - and share - your posts.

As you visit other bloggers be sure to share the best posts you find at your favorite Social Networking site. I favor the FriendFeed bookmarklet. The better your shared items the more people will want to read what YOU write. Take a little extra time and make your FriendFeed posts more valuable to readers.

Here are Five easy to use tools to make the results of your time online more fruitful:

1. Go to FFHolic to find the Most Discussed, Most Liked, Most Commented, Most Popular and Most Active discussions at FriendFeed. Select those that are related to your areas of interest and get involved in the discussion. Others reading your comments are likely to subscribe to you, read your feeds, check out your blogs - maybe even write about you or link to you. ACTIVE participants get shared!
2. Go to Twellow and find others with the same interests as you. If you want to see all the bloggers you can find it under Media. The more powerful blogger Twitter users you follow the more you’ll learn - and the more who will follow you. Visit their blogs and leave pertinent comments. (If that is sounding repetitive it is because it is VERY IMPORTANT.)
3. Use Twitterholic to visit the Top 100 Twitterers. There is a reason they’re top Twitter users, so even if you aren’t interested in their topics DO pay attention to what they’re doing to get ideas on how YOU can be more successful.
4. Set up Twilerts for the subjects you are interested in to get an email once a day with related tweets. Remember to add any names or users you use so you can see when someone is interested in you so you can follow them. If they recommended you be sure to thank them.
5. Use Zuula Blog Search to find the most recent AND relevant blog posts on any topic you’re interested in. Blog an answer and link them in and drop by their blog and comment. Wouldn’t you like the reader of the posts you most enjoy to be your readers too? With blog commenting and linking they can.

Have your own favorite way to grow your online networks? We would LOVE to hear from you. Drop your ideas including YOUR links and links to resources you use and recommend in the comments.

WE LOVE COMMENTS and ENCOURAGE Relevant Link Dropping

• If you have something to say - pro or con - please say it.
• We hope you WILL leave related links. If you know of several great related articles feel free to include links to all of them. If you have written posts related to any existing posts here please DO add your related links to those posts.
• Be sure to enter the main URL of your blog or the URL of a particular blog post so it will automatically be linked.
• If you want to add a SHORT slogan that lets readers of your comments know what your site offers go ahead. Most people DO know the difference between discreetly reminding readers what they do and posting an advertisement. We trust that most of our visitors will know the difference.
• All comments are DoFollow. We write for real readers and they follow links.
• We often move the best links left in comments up into the Additional Resources sections found under most posts here.
• What is relevant? Comments pertaining to that particular post or questions related to that subject. They CAN be about your site as long as they’re also relevant to the post.

Yes, we know that some may take advantage - but most won’t. (We know how to use the delete comment function in WordPress.)  Search Engine World said it best,

“If a blogger moderates comments, there is no need for a NoFollow attribute. “Everyone who passes a human inspection should get the link love.”

Won’t SPAM increase? Apparently not - at least in the short term. Jim’s Marketing Blog saw no increase when they started their DoFollow Internet Marketing Experiment. Even if we do, deleting it is a small price to pay for increasing comments.

Many Blogs seem to be confused about whether they want comments or not. Some ban signatures, others insist on “real names” (as though they could prove whether they were actually real or not!), and many are paranoid about link dropping.

They may not realize they’re confused, but any time you put an obstacle in the path of someone who wants to leave a comment you ARE discouraging comments. You may wish to reconsider that. Here are some of the ways bloggers run off visitors who might otherwise comment:

• Forcing them to register or log-in - to anything - before they can leave a comment with a link.
• Insisting they use their real name - there are good reasons some avoid doing so.
• Not allowing them to use their online personas or pseudonyms (ours are Internet Strategist and GrowMap)

Many blogs comment policies confuse me. For example:

“Please use your real name or a handle that’s not driven by trying to gain SEO / Google Juice from my blog. If you put in a “name” designed for SEO purposes, I will edit it. I support the DoFollow movement, but this is also a community, and comments are meant to inspire discussion, not gain link love. Thank you!”

How do I know if my “handle” (GrowMap or Internet Strategist) will be viewed as “designed for SEO purposes”? Isn’t the purpose of DoFollow Link Love?

A more recent issue has been caused because “someone” decided that everyone who blogs should stop using Avatars and handles and start using their real picture and their real name.  We disagree with that idea because of privacy concerns and safety issues and refrain from commenting in blogs that require it.

We agree with the position stated by Blog Herald on Who Are You When You Comment in a Blog:

“When the blogger becomes synonymous with their blog, they don’t always speak for themselves, the private person, but often they speak with the reputation of their blog. Their name becomes closely knit with their blog and its content. It becomes who they are.”

Our position is that great Avatars are more eye-catching than another head shot and given the privacy issues, whether or not to use your real name is a decision that each person must make.

We have no such confusion. We want your real comments and will promptly delete SPAM comments so you won’t waste your time reading them.

We highly recommend reading 7 Ways To Shoot Your Feet Commenting in Other Blogs for some good tips on how not to upset blog owners when commenting. When visiting other blogs watch for comment policies so you won’t be asking Why Do So Many People Have a Problem with Self-Promotion?

SHOULD YOU GO DOFOLLOW?

• Link Generously: You WILL Reap What You Sow
• Robert Scoble: I was Wrong About NoFollow
• Hey Google Follow Me: Giving More Link Love
• Andy Beard’s Ultimate List of Do Follow Plugins
• The NoFollow Versus DoFollow Debate
• SearchEngineJournal: 13 Reasons NoFollow Tags Suck
• Randa Clay The I Follow Movement
• DoFollow or NoFollow That is the Question - see all the other posts linked here
• GrayWolf: Google’s Policies on No Follow and Reviews is Hypocritical and Wrong
• Really Smart Guy: Blogging Tip: Turn Off NoFollow in Your Comments
• More People Spread Link Love with Do Follow
• Women Don’t Like NoFollow Tags
• Join the DoFollow Revolution
• My Tech Blog is a DoFollow Blog From Now Onward; Increase Your Backlinks and Popularity

DOFOLLOW BLOG DIRECTORIES:

• Do Follow List of Lists by niche including the Do Follow SEO Internet Marketing List
• Do Follow Blog Directory - Register your DoFollow blog free (The process presents a sales page.)
• Do Follow Forums List - 149 verified Do Follow Forums broken up into 11 categories.

BLOG SPAMMERS TO WATCH FOR:

Whether you’re using Do Follow or not, there is no shortage of creative Blog Spammers. Here are some we’ve marked as SPAM. We record them here so that any blogger searching on part of their message will find our they ARE SPAM.  We recommend you ALWAYS check the links and search for the text as a way to determine when something that looks fine is actually SPAM.

1. Nice try but we didn’t start blogging yesterday and we know what a parked domain is. And you mean every day, not everyday. (Included this just in case they have another version.)

Andy @ Do Follow 001 Says:

It’s great that you are a part of the DoFollow community

This is divided between two camps, those that don’t broadcast their dofollow status and just keep it a secret for the their regular commentators, and those, like yourselves, who do let the world know about it.

It takes a little longer to review the submitted comments, but as long as you have the right anti-spam software it shouldn’t take too much time everyday.