Confessions of a Web 2.0 Addict

I’m trying to remember how it all began. I think it started innocently, as these things usually do. I went to a St. Louis Publishers Association meeting, and Bob Baker, the speaker, was doing a presentation on something called “social networking.” It was intriguing but confusing. Even with the handout, I had no idea what he was talking about. “This is Web 2.0,” he said, if one can actually speak in italics. “If you’re an author, you must have a presence on the Web.”

I got the idea that a website is not enough to create that presence. Apparently, one also needs a blog, podcasts, a newsletter, an identity on Amazon, and memberships in such things as Facebook, LinkedIn, Yahoo, and Gather. I’m not much of a joiner. I was overwhelmed.

I don’t remember when I attended that presentation, but I know it was pre-twitter. Since then, I’ve come a long way, baby. I have two blogs, a newsletter, and lots of memberships. I started a group on LinkedIn; I have a page on Facebook where my daughter’s friends write on my wall; and Amazon is #1 on next year's marketing plan (podcasting is #2). But what really blows my mind is the amount of time I spend micro-blogging on twitter. You’d be surprised at how much you can say with only 140 characters. Well, maybe you wouldn’t, but I was.

You can probably tell that I’ve jumped feet first into Web 2.0, astonishing young and old alike with my computer prowess — young being my daughters, who think I've lost my mind, and old being my contemporaries, who agree. What nobody told me about blogging and tweeting and joining is that they are seductive and addictive.

They are not just a part of marketing; they are a way of life. All day long and into the night I hear twitter making bird sounds as it informs me there is a new tweet on my TweetDeck. My e-mail is full of the latest blogs on blogging and tweets about twittering. I am constantly updating my e-mail list and planning my next newsletter or blog post. I have printed out so much advice on how to do it all better; I could start my own recycling plant. Only as I write this do I realize how far gone I am.

I am truly addicted, and I have no idea how Web 2.0 addicts recover. Everything I read tells me to blog and twitter more, not less. I guess I’m lucky because I don’t send and receive tweets on my iPhone or Blackberry, only because I don’t own them. But it’s only a matter of time.

It is almost midnight on New Years Eve of 2008. I’d love to say I’m resolving to cut down in 2009, but I'm not sure I can. This is bad, very bad.

The Invisible Blog?

I’ve been blogging my little heart out for quite a while now and wonder if the blogging world even knows I’m here. How do I get noticed? How do I get on the blogosphere map? When I was first doing research, if I had a question, I went to the library. But in this brave new world, when I have a question, I Google it. So I Googled “how to get your blog noticed” and struck gold. Here are some of the many suggestions for experts out there:

From 13 Tips to Get Your Blog Noticed
at JohnTP.com blogging & online money making tips

JohnTP lives in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) and has a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSc IT) in India. He has been a full-time blogger since November 2005 and currently receives over 9,000 unique visitors daily and 15,000 page views. Also check out DigitGeek, his blog on hardware reviews and tutorials.

1. Place a link to your blog in your signature, so that any posts to Forums, Outgoing Emails, etc, will promote your blog.
2. SubmitExpress.com will submit your blog free to the top 20 Search engines.
3. Submit your good articles to EzineArticles.com.

From Branding 101: How to Promote Your Blog Like the Big Guys Do
by Leo Babauta of Write to Done

Leo Babauta created Write to Done as a way to share some of what he has learned the craft and the art of writing. A life-long writer, he blogs about journalism, blog writing, freelance writing, fiction, non-fiction, getting a book deal, the business of writing, the habit of writing. And so on.

1. First, figure out who your target audience is. Who are you trying to help with your blog? Who do you want to attract? It’s good to have a clear picture of exactly who these people are …
2. Next, figure out what desires you’re going to be tapping into. Every reader goes to a blog for a reason — some desire they have that the blog will potentially fulfill.
3. Then figure out what message you’re going to send to them that will tap into specific desires. This is key: every blog sends an unstated message to the reader.

From How to Get Your Blog Noticed Quickly and Widely
by Gregory White on EzineArticles.com

Greg White, Internet Marketer, Author, Consultant, and Project Manager has been running successful web projects since 2001. His sites and blogs cover Blog Marketing Tactics, Internet Marketing Tactics, and a variety of 'Niche' topics, in addition to starting and marketing profitable web project.

1. Sign up for a free account at BlogExplosion.com and register your blog there: http://www.blogexplosion.com/
2. Submit your blog to all of the directories listed at http://www.rss-feeds-directory.com/blog_lists.html
3. Sign up for a "My Yahoo" at http://my.yahoo.com/ and attach your blog to your own "My Yahoo" account. This will get your blog included in Yahoo very quickly. This is worth the effort to stop what you're doing right and do it, since Yahoo has a PR 9.

From Amazing Blogging Skills
By Axel g

Axel g was born and raised in Sweden. He is a meditator, who was ordained as a junior Buddhist monk in Thailand in 1993. His meditation practice has also taken him to Japan, Malaysia, the UK, and Sweden; and he has lived in numerous monasteries around the world. Axel now works full time in the field of personal development.

1. Write about topics that really interest your readers. Focus on providing information that your readers want and do your very best to help them along the way.
2. Freely share what you know, that's one important key to successful blogging and offer your readers useful information. If you have genuine knowledge about the topic you're writing about, share everything you know about it with your readers and they will love you for it. As a pro, you should also be able to explain things in simple language.
3. Web surfers love blogs with character. Relax and show your readers who you really are! This way you will also quite naturally establish a personal relation with your readership.

Think about the words, World Wide Web. It truly is, and, if you doubt it, consider the bloggers who contributed these 12 great ideas.

Words to Write By

The summer is over … or practically over, anyway. A minute ago it was Memorial Day; suddenly, I’m staring Labor Day in the face (I still haven’t bought a barbeque grill!), and what do I have to show for it besides a tan and an improved flutter kick?

But I’m not being fair. Since my life is measured by statistics — my rankings on Google and Yahoo, marketing strategies that pay off, and number of words written, articles published, and books sold — I have accomplished quite a bit. This has been a summer of writing. In fact, I don’t seem to be able to stop.

It is hard to explain this obsession to people who think they can’t write, would rather die than write, or know they can write but hate doing it. As I tried to think of something profound to say, I decided to seek some help from noted writers past and present. Here are some observations that really resonated.


“If the desire to write is not accompanied by actual writing, then the desire is not to write.” Hugh Prather

"There is no perfect time to write. There's only now." Barbara Kingsolver

"A great deal of talent is lost to the world for want of a little courage." Sydney Smith

“There is no rule on how to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly: sometimes it's like drilling rock.” Ernest Hemingway

"Writing itself is an act of faith.” EB White

“It is perfectly okay to write garbage — as long as you edit brilliantly.” C. J. Cherryhr

“Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it's the only way you can do anything good.” William Faulkner

“Writing became such a process of discovery that I couldn't wait to get to work in the morning: I wanted to know what I was going to say.” Sharon O'Brien

“If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster.” Isaac Asimov

"The best time for planning a book is while you're doing the dishes." Agatha Christie

"You write to communicate to the hearts and minds of others what's burning inside you. And we edit to let the fire show through the smoke." Arthur Polotnik

May you be as inspired as I am by these words.