The Group Administrators' Lament

Forlorn! the very act is living hell

To toll for hours for thee by my sole self!

New! the fancy cannot post so well

As we are told to do, digital shelf.

New! new! thy informative anthem fades

Past the near forums, over the data stream,

Up the server-side; and now ’tis archived deep

In the fray, a search-bot wades:

Was it a calling, or a pipe-smokers dream?

Gone is that drive:—Do I drift to sleep?

 -Original satiric poem, adapted from "Ode to a Nightingale" by John Keats

 

I feel it. The desperation. The loathing. The brewing hatred for all you consumers. You consume my sweat. My searching. My intellect.

Shame on you.

Every forum admin, group founder and blogger has his or her own version of this lament.  You feel what I feel. That dirty, sweaty sock under-the-bed feeling.  The feeling of being used.  You created a blog, a forum or a group to share. All you have to show for it is Take. 

Nine members, 50 members, 100 members strong; few give.  Few share. Most take.

They take your insights with every, "Great post. Informative."  They take your side with every, "I agree. Good post."  They take offense with every, "How dare you!? Moron."  But it's worse when they take your time.

"Nice topic you posted, admin. We'd have more to say about it if you take some more time to post more of your opinions."

Okay.

Two hours later, their request has been assuaged.  You wait. Two more hours, two more days and maybe even two more weeks.  Nothing. They took your time.  You sucker.  You fell for it, again.

Take heed, users. Takers. We're growing wise.  We're seeing through the mock concern, the faux interest and the self-righteous criticism.  We're not service providers. We're not here to make a digital storehouse of information for you to pillage.  You must share. You will share.  You will stop asking questions when you don't care about the answer.  You will stop reading and start discussing. You will back up your criticisms with facts from more than just Wikipedia.

Why?

'Cause the jig is up! We're on to you. We're watching you.  We have our clicker finger hovering over the ban-stick and we're not afraid to use it.

You've been warned.

Big Shot Blogger

Top-Shelf Personal Blogging Tips
A guest post by John Moore

Amanda, I wanted to start off by thanking you for the invitation to write a post for Strategic Fox.  I enjoy having the opportunity to engage people anywhere, anytime, and it was a pleasure writing this piece.

 

When it comes to the blogging process, I must remind you that there is no right approach.  However, if your goal is to engage in a dialog to share opinions and discussions, here is what I recommend:

 

• Determine what you are excited about.  Your passions; what you are interested in discussing with other users.  I have chatted with a lot of people who recommend a laser-like focus on one or two topics, if this is your passion, follow it.   I enjoy engaging on a fairly wide-range of topics and it has been successful, thus far.
• Define goals for your blog. Personal blogs, like corporate blogs, are often a means to an end.  My goals for social media usage are defined here.  A similar outline may help you measure the results of  your own social media efforts.
  
• Give yourself a target number of posts per week. I strongly urge you not to write a daily blog update, as you will burn out.  On the other hand, don't write a post once every two weeks.  Readers will not come back.  If feasible, try to write 2 or 3 times a week for your first couple of months.  As you enter the flow of blogging and begin to find your social voice, you will be able to determine a frequency that suits your life.
• Please, please, please....  Do not write a one-way blog. Comments are critical for engagement and engagement, in my opinion, is the only reason to develop a blog.  Unless you are an all-knowing being, keep comments open. Actively review and respond to your readers.  As you do this, people will return to your blog, both to agree and disagree with your opinions.  This is one of the most critical components for a new blogger, do not forget this please.
• Decide what PR channels you will utilize.  I recommend starting off with Twitter, LinkedIn Groups, Facebook, and Technorati.  You will get big bang for buck with LinkedIn Groups and Twitter in the short-term, while Technorati will provide longer term payback.

If your goal is to create a platform for social engagement, these tips will get you going in the right direction.  Do not get too discouraged when your posts get few views and do not get too excited when you write a post that produces a lot of discussion.  I have had a day with fewer than 50 views and a day with over 4600 views.  Remain calm with the Tao of blogging and follow the advice above.  Maybe one day you and I will be at the head of the virtual blogging classroom.

 

John Moore

http://johnfmoore.wordpress.com

http://twitter.com/JohnFMoore

Things I Adore: Part 3

Blogs of Note:
Great blogs and how you can have one.

As the owner of a freshly-launched personal blog, I am vastly interested in top web publishers and their methods.  According to Technorati, the following is an accurate list of the five most popular blogs to date:


1. Boing Boing : A brain-child of Mark Frauenfelder and his wife Carla, Boing Boing started off as a magazine before it became a group blog in January 2000.  Together with four co-editors, Boing Boing promises to be a "directory of wonderful things" and delivers 'weird' to a Technorati fan-base of over 4,300 people.  Boing Boing works because it highlights strange and unique content on a consistent basis via staff and guest posts.

2. Problogger:  Darren Rowse launched his personal blog about life, faith and his hobby long before he ever thought he'd make money doing so.  Today, Problogger boasts a #2 ranking on Technorati with over 3, 800 fans.  Darren has lots to say about his journey, but  his most important lesson is 'slow and steady wins the race.'  Since 2002, Darren has brought his hobby from fun to profit through niche subject matter and genius marketing.

3. TechCrunch: This commercial blog is new in comparison to the top two, but it boasts over 3,600 fans on Technorati and profiles all things technology and business.  Started by Michael Arrington in 2005, TechCrunch has a dozen staff members working to keep the content fresh.  Their success stems from loyalty to their niche and expanded content offerings through The Crunch Network; several sub-blogs that target different tech genres.

4.  Lifehacker:  With just over 3,080 Technorati fans, Lifehacker has provided a steady stream of 'life-simplification tips' via web since 2005.  With over 18 updates per weekday, visitors can always find ways to streamline their routine.  Lifehacker is one of many blogs owned by Gawker Media founded by Nick Denton.  The corporate blogs' popularity is attributed to a steady stream of updates about new products and services that improve quality-of-life.


5. Engadget:  Just barely behind Lifehacker is Engadget, a corporate blog dedicated to consumer electronics that has over 3,040 fans on Technorati.  Engadget sets itself apart by offering geek-speak in seven different languages through sub-sites.  Peter Rojas created Engadget in 2004, which was recently acquired by AOL.  The blog is successful because it makes a general topic personalized through translation and news leads posted from readers.


Now, most of these blogs are owned by companies, but they didn't all start that way.  The top two blogs began as personal platforms dedicated to the writers 'niche of choice.'  Since personal blogs are the most common variety, the next post will feature a 'guide to personal blogging' from John Moore, VP of Engineering of Swimfish, Inc.  John's blog was created on February 3rd, 2009, it averages six comments per post and over 180 unique visitors a day.  You can follow him on Twitter at JohnFMoore.

I'll be posting his article as soon as I get it, so watch my twitter feed at @foxystrategy for update status.

Things I Loathe: Part 2

Prep yourself for the next installment of "Things I Loathe." If you like what I have to say stay tuned for parts 3-5 and its natural counterpart: "Things I Adore."

Keep in mind that I will be limiting these posts to communication-related topics.

I was reading this blog about some of the worst websites the writer has seen. Now, individuals might have an excuse... they might not be technologically savvy, just made a site to try it out, or they got ripped off when they hired a buddy to do it. However, companies have no excuse. Guru.com, craigslist.org, and elance.com have people waiting for gigs who can get the job done. Why would you allow your brand to be represented with crap online work? Are your products that horrible?

Beyond bad websites, there are companies that don't understand how to PROPERLY integrate social media. They either use it to blast out their messages or flood the web with their presence on every site they can create a user name on. Don't these social media managers even make an ATTEMPT to understand the community they are pouncing on? Do you walk into a party, kick open the door and start talking about how awesome you are? No. Well, at least I hope not. You wouldn't be invited to any parties after that.

Hey companies, do it right or don't do it at all. Cheap websites and a 'fake friend' social media presence doesn't make you cool. Really. It doesn't.