Blogging Series Part Quatro: Networking

OK, so you have stumbled onto the Blogosphere, now what?

Even though most would say the next part I am daring to bring up has NOTHING to do with blogging, I am going to argue it has EVERYTHING to do with blogging. 

I want you to think about your "blogivation"  AKA what motivates you to blog.  Why are you blogging?  What is your purpose as a blogger, what do you want?

If you can answer that, I will stand up and applaud, because after almost 3 years of blogging almost daily, I have no idea if there is one sole reason I have chosen blogging as a hobby. 

I started blogging upon my DH's return from war.  I was scared about the reintegration, reunion, and possible alteration in our relationship as an evolving family.  So I decided blogging would be the best place for me to sort it out.  Go ahead laugh, but the blogosphere was different then.  A different place entirely.  Very few bloggers had met one another, there were not nearly as many of us as there are now.  It seemed like a cheap alternative to therapy for me.  Plus frankly there was the interaction I WAS craving as a Mother of 2 children under 3 1/2 years of age, in a town with no family and few other Guardsman. 

I really want you to think about WHY you have started blogging, and what your blogavation is.  Because  your "networking" will depend on this reason. 

The blogosphere likes labels.

Mom blogger
Christian blogger
Pundit
mil blogger
craft blogger
Jewish blogger
cat blogger
photo blogger
support blogger
gun blogger
liberal blogger
conservative blogger
weight loss blogger
excercise blogger
celebrity blogger

Well the great news is, there is a blog group for just about EVERYTHING on the planet.  And I am noting the blogsphere is a changing place.  More and more blogs being added daily.

MY first tip in finding a great blogging community.

Find blogs you REALLY enjoy reading. One of my daily reads was, and continues to be Tammi, and Blackfive.  I enjoyed them so much I ran through the blogrolls, and found more.  While writing this, I actually called Tammi, (who happens to be my Blog-Momma, which is what we bloggers tend to name our blog mentors) and I asked her,  what she thought the most important thing was about networking.  She said it was to CHOOSE WISELY, who you choose to network with. Choose those who you really enjoy, and would love to meet, choose those who tend to have the same moral and ethical standards as you do.  I happen to be in agreement.

The best way to network is to COMMENT!  Comment on the blogs you enjoy reading.   If you read SpouseBuzz, and have a blog.  Leave your blog in the URL section of the comment section.   The contributors follow those links, as well as other commenter's. 

If you are a military spouse, or military blogger, I would first direct you to,

Milblogging.com

Milblogging.com is probably the BEST place to get the latest in military related blogs.  They also separate by country, spouse, parent, etc.  If you are not registered there, I would encourage you to do so.  This will help others find you.

Another great tool is The Truth Laid Bear.   This is an ecosystem based blog rating in which blogs are placed in an ecosystem according to links/and daily readers.  This is also a great place to register your blog, and a great place to find NEW blogs. 

Sitemeter and StatCounter, are also great places to check and see where your incoming links are from.  these are also great tools to see which of your entries are most popular, and they will both track traffic, according to time, place, and location.  It is a great place to find who is visiting, and how often.  Also note, ALMOST EVERYONE checks the sitemeter.  My Blog Grandpappy told me that one time.  I did not believe him.  But I have learned, everyone checks traffic.

My Blog Grandpappy , also is the king of NETWORKING and offers great blogging tips at his site Bad Example.  If you look at the upper right hand corner of his blog, he offers a TON of tips on blogging.  From Networking, to commenting, finding your blog voice, google search codes, he can even tell you how to get more comments.  Frankly, the guy has been blogging forever, and is a blogging genius. (GO NOW and CHECK OUT THE BLOG TIPS!!) One of the best tips I have ever read from Harvey is this one...I will paraphrase "find your authentic voice".  People are not idiots, and they can spot a fake.  The blogosphere is full of smart, funny, well read folks. BE YOURSELF! 

I also must include here "Trackback".   What on Earth is a trackback?  Well once again Harvey explains it perfectly.  So, I will steal his explanation, and then I will direct you to his blog AGAIN!! 

In summary:

Trackbacks are a courtesy to the person you're linking, and not mandatory.
If you have to do it manually, use the Wizbang Standalone Trackback Pinger.
If they don't have trackbacks, you can leave a link in their comments.
Trackbacks can bring you extra site traffic.

CAUTION: ONLY TRACKBACK WHEN YOUR POST IS RELEVANT TO THEIR POST. ONLY COMPLETE JERKS DO OFF-TOPIC "HEY! LOOK AT MY BLOG!" PINGS.

So, in essence networking can be made simple.  It can be a daunting and time consuming process.  I am not always great at commenting at others blogs, or pinging, and I am finding it is becoming increasingly difficult with the increase in blogs.  Particularly mil-blogs, where there used to be 2 there are now hundreds.  Which is amazing to me, because I do believe we have an important story to share. 

I think the most important thing to remember about networking, is to keep in mind, that you will probably meet some of the people you "know" online, at one time or another, so network wisely.  The blogosphere is becoming increasingly interactive.

Read the rest of the SpouseBuzz blogging series HERE

Part 1:  Intro

Part 2:  I want a Blog

Part 3:  Privacy

Comments

[Love My Tanker]

Great post, AWTM!

[Kasey]

I am still learning about all this trackbacking and pinging stuff. Thank you for all this information, it is VERY helpful to me as a realatively new blogger. :)

[Kelly]

Thanks for the great information. I'm a new blogger so this really helped.

[Guard Wife]

Great post, AWTM & thanks for the links to the helpful sites. I wish I had found such things when I first started!

[HH7]

Thank you for all the tips and guidance. It's been a big help since I'm just getting started.

[Andi]

Great stuff!

[wendy]

The whole trackback thing is still fuzzy for me, but I think that's okay. Love this series!

[Tressa]

I don't really understand the trackback thing. I know that it is good form to link back to a post that you have taken information. Is that a trackback?
I am thinking about moving my blog. Do you guys have any tips for that? I am just not all that excited about my host. Of course, I still have to figure out where I am going with this.

[Guard Wife]

Tressa,
I notice your blog is with wordpress. I found this trackback tutorial (see link below) for Word Press that seems helpful. As far as moving your blog... I moved from blogger to typepad awhile ago and it was easy. It just depends where you're headed & how helpful their customer service is for you. Best advice is to save a copy of your blog just in case the transfer doesn't go well the firswt time.

http://www.optiniche.com/blog/117/wordpress-trackback-tutorial/

[Tressa]

Thank you, Guard Wife, that does help. I have bookmarked it to go back and read it when I am properly caffinated.

I have a friend at typepad and she likes it. She is trying to convince me to switch, but I sure do like the price of Wordpress.

[Edward W. Liggett]

To Navy Spouses in Singapore:

I recently got married in Vietnam, and will be honeymooning in Singapore next month (Nov 07). Could anyone direct me to Personnel where I can get my spouse a military I.D? Thank you!

[powerlin518]

good,a nice blog!