Highway to Hale

Golden Guy RSS by LuMaxArt

I’m a huge fan of creating a great RSS feed where you can find useful information at all times and read posts from a bunch of the super blogrockers out there. I use Google Reader for my RSS feed and I share articles pretty frequently for anybody that wants to check out my favorite posts.

I’ve noticed one huge problem with my RSS feed though.

There is no way to comment via my reader. I haven’t been commenting as much as I should, or want to, since I filled up my RSS feed with such excellent thinkers. It’s not that I don’t have thoughts about the posts, I’ve just got another list of posts staring me in the face that I can’t wait to read.

Not only are comments viewed as currency in the blogosphere at times, but comments drive conversation. The best bloggers are not looking merely to tell you what they think – they’re looking to build on ideas and participate in thought-provoking conversations.

Blogging is a two-way street. Make it a busy one.

Show your favorite bloggers that you appreciate their work by striking up conversation. Go beyond a simple agreement and a thank you. Use your comment to build on the blogger’s ideas, ask questions, and challenge points in a constructive or inquisitive format. You can form a valuable relationship simply through commenting and carrying your comments and conversations over to other platforms.

So here’s my social media resolution for 2010 – I’m going to make a point to do more commenting on blogs by Danny Brown, Jim Connolly, Arik Hanson, David Spinks, Rich DeMatteo, Lauren Fernandez, Valeria Maltoni, Stuart Foster, Leigh Durst, Scott Hepburn, Jackie Adkins, Matt Cheuvront, Amber Naslund, Ryan Stephens, B.L. Ochman, Samantha Ogborn, David Mullen, Mack Collier, Amy Mengel, Jason Falls, etc. (Seriously, the list goes on and on)

What are some of your favorite blogs and how can you improve your relationship through commenting?

Image Via Flickr's "Woody1778a"

As most of you know, new FTC guidelines concerning bloggers and disclosure went into effect yesterday. Will the new FTC guidelines cause blogger relations and online PR to look more like advertising than traditional PR? I don’t think so.

Before the new guidelines dropped, there was a big push for blogger transparency. If Chris Brogan wrote about a client, he let the readers know. If David Spinks wrote about an online tool that had an associated cost waived, he mentioned it so readers were aware.

Why hasn’t anybody accused the larger blogs of advertising in the past? Because whether they were given free products/services or not, the writing feels true and the readers trust them.

Blogging has received a lot of spotlight recently and readers are choosing to read the blogs they trust. With the blogs I read, it doesn’t matter whether the writer was given an item for free or not – I trust that they will give an honest opinion.

I understand that a blogger is less likely to complain about something they have been given for free, but you had better believe the blogger will either choose not to write about it, or they will write a half-hearted review filled with simple facts and a claim that the product or service might be great for some other kind of person.

My final take: The new FTC guidelines won’t impact things too heavily. Good writers will continue to be believable and trustworthy. Readers will be more aware of the perks of being a trusted public figure, but that doesn’t mean they will stop listening and acting on trusted recommendations.

Photo Credit: Peter Halasz

A friend (Jason Sadler – iwearyourshirt.com) just informed me that today, October 15, is Blog Action Day – read more about that at http://www.blogactionday.org/. The part you need to know is that this year’s topic is climate change. I’ll be honest, I’m no expert on climate change. But I have found a few things you can do as somebody interested in social media.

1. Unplug your computer when you are not using it.

• It is no secret that those of us riding the social media wave (no Google pun intended) spend a serious amount of time on computers. But, did you know that many electronics (including most computers) continue to draw electricity while turned off if they remain plugged in? Pretty simple right?

2. Work from home.

• On the heels of a post about the elimination of the 9-5 work day from David Spinks, this tip is especially relevant. The way we are communicating today, there shouldn’t be any problem setting up a virtual workplace. I understand it is not always possible, but think of the energy your office could save if everybody worked from home for only one day a week. Don’t forget that nobody would be driving to and from work either. If you don’t believe in the virtual agency, take a look at the success Marketing Profs has had without a brick and mortar office.

3. Participate in events like Blog Action Day 2009.

• Like I said, this post is part of Blog Action Day 2009, but today is not the only time you can rally the troops to make some changes in Climate Change policy. You might have noticed an emphasis on change as of late, and social media is no stranger to helping out a cause. Every month, 12for12k chooses a charity to support. For more information on that, get over to Twitter and ask @DannyBrown all about it. Social media is great about creating power with numbers and you could easily increase those numbers by seeking out events in which you can participate.

4. Use Skype instead of Southwest.

• There is definitely power in face-to-face meetings, but don’t be so quick to jump into the friendly skies for a meeting you could easily have over Skype, or ooVoo. Both offer free conference calling up to a certain amount of users, and ooVoo even offers free video conferencing. Not only will it save you money and time, but it will also create less carbon emissions (airplanes produce about 12% of transportation emissions).

5. Grab some local food for lunch.

• Having lunch in the office (or in the virtual office)? Grab something from the local farmers market to find something healthy that didn’t require a worldwide flight. The food will be fresh and healthy and the climate will stay fresh and healthy as well. Plus, how great would it be to feed an office full of people fresh and healthy food to energize them for the second half of the day?

Bonus Tip: Join SocialVibe.

• SocialVibe is linking social media with brand power on the charity scene. This tip moves away from climate change a little bit, but it really is an awesome utility. I haven’t looked through every cause that is signed up through SocialVibe, but I bet if you look hard enough, you can find a climate change charity for which to lend a hand.

There you have it: Five Six tips for those interested in social media to support climate change efforts. Each tip is very simple and could make a huge difference using the potential of social media. I’m only one person, but I will pass this article on through my network, and I hope you do the same.