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Are you using SezWho on your blog?

July 31, 2008 by John Dilbeck
Filed under: Blogging, Communities, Social Networking, WordPress 

This morning, while registering this blog with BlogCatalog, I discovered something new called SezWho. It looked interesting, so I did a little more research and decided to implement it on 21st Century Affiliate Marketing.

What is SezWho?

From their FAQs page:


SezWho is a universal profile service that engages your community and enables content discovery. SezWho is all about making the Social Web truly social.

SezWho enables content rating, universal user profiles, and reputation-based content discovery to be added to any social media site. The SezWho service works with blogs, forums, wikis, video/picture sharing sites, discussion boards and anywhere else where people contribute content and engage in conversations.
SezWho is focused on delivering benefits to all participants in social media interactions:

* Readers can easily distinguish credible content and commentary, and they can follow contributors as they participate on social media sites across the web

* Contributors gain web-wide recognition for their insights and expertise, with a universal profile that accumulates a record of all their contributions, across all communities

* Site-Owners and Publishers can spotlight and leverage informative, high-quality content to engage their communities and drive traffic

Since this blog is powered by WordPress 2.6 and uses a widget-enabled theme, installing SezWho was easy and quick.

After downloading the plug-in from a link on BlogCatalog, it was just a matter of uploading it to my server, activating the plugin, adding the key for the API, and setting some preferences. Since I went with the default settings, it took no time at all once the plugin was uploaded.

I experimented with adding the two widgets and finally settled (for now) on showing both the Red Carpet (people who have left comments) and the Badge (information about me) in the left column.

Now, when you visit the 21st Century Affiliate Marketing blog, you are able to rate each post I write. I invite and encourage you to do so. I appreciate the feedback.

Also, whenever anyone leaves a comment, other readers can rank the quality of the comment.

(You are not allowed to rate your own posts or comments, of course.)

I’m hoping this will encourage more high quality comments as I blog more frequently. It has taken some time to get this blog configured as I wanted, so now I get to write more. I hope you’ll feel free to rate any posts and comments, and to leave comments of your own.

Together, we can learn more about affiliate marketing in the 21st century and when you leave a comment, you’ll get a link back to your site and a link to the comments and posts you’ve made elsewhere, based on information SezWho has gathered across the web.

For example, if you look at the comments to a post, each commentor will have their name listed with a link to their site (if they entered it when making the comment). Following that is a link that says “Who am I?” If you hover your mouse pointer over that text, or click it, you’ll learn more about that person’s postings and comments across multiple blogs.

I think that’s going to be useful – at least, to me – because I like to learn from people who are well-informed.

I don’t know for sure, since SezWho has been installed for only a few hours on this blog, but I think I’ll find it interesting and helpful.

If you want to add SezWho to your blog, just log in to BlogCatalog.com and click the Manage Blogs link. If you have multiple blogs listed, click on the Manage link to the right of the Blog’s name.

That opens a new page where you’ll see a link to SezWho just to the right of the Edit Your Blog heading.

Follow the directions in that section to register for SezWho and to get the plugin. I can’t guarantee it will be as easy for you to install as it was for me, because I held my mouth just right, bit the tip of my tongue, and all the stars were aligned just right when I went through the process. (grin)

Will SezWho make a difference with how you interact when you visit this blog? I don’t know. I hope it encourages more interaction.

What do you think? I hope you’ll comment on this and see how it works for you, too.

Act on your dream!

JD

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22 Comments on Are you using SezWho on your blog?

  1. John Dilbeck on Thu, 31st Jul 2008 11:38 am

    2. I forgot to mention that Andy Beard has a very interesting article called Blogcatalog SezWho Partnership – Passes MyBlogLog Traffic that presents good information about BlogCatalog, MyBlogLog, SezWho, and related topics.

    It’s well worth reading.

    Act on your dream!

    JD

  2. SBA on Sat, 6th Sep 2008 9:22 pm

    3. I’m also using SezWho but don’t like the rating of each post. No one is using it yet anyway. Do you know of any way to customize? Also it would be nice to filter out your own comments on your blog (usually responding to commentors) or sort in some way.

    SBAs last blog post..Interview by Comments with Blogger WBRNET

  3. John Dilbeck on Sun, 7th Sep 2008 1:15 am

    4. Hi SBA,

    Welcome to my blog and thanks for your comments.

    I’ve only been using SezWho for about five weeks, and most people haven’t even noticed it or learned what it is all about, yet. It takes time.

    I rather like it just the way it is and haven’t looked into any customization options. I’m sure you could learn more about such matters by contacting the folks at SezWho.

    The main reason I installed it on this blog was because of the ability for readers to rate the blog postings. Managing comments across multiple sites was of secondary interest for me.

    Yes, few people are using it, but some are.

    I think of comments as a conversation, so I’d rather see the comments in the order they were entered, including my own. That way, a reader can follow what happened in the proper order.

    I guess we all have different opinions about these things and it seems that you and I prefer different options. I’m happy you stopped by and took the time to express your opinion.

    Act on your dream!

    JD

  4. SBA on Sun, 7th Sep 2008 1:24 pm

    5. I didn’t mean that I want to scramble the comments below the posts, just that when I look at someone’s SezWho profile it shows mostly their responses to comments on their own blog — would be nice to easily zero in on what they’ve said as readers. Just a ‘wish list’ as the service spreads.

    SBAs last blog post..Interview by Comments with Blogger WBRNET

  5. John Dilbeck on Mon, 8th Sep 2008 7:42 am

    6. Hi SBA,

    OK, I know what you mean now. You’re talking about when we click or hover over the “Who am I” link next to your name and it shows your recent comments on sites that have SezWho.

    You may have a good idea. It might be nice to have a checkbox that filters someone’s comments to show all their comments, or just their comments on other blogs.

    Is that what you meant?

    Act on your dream!

    JD

  6. SBA on Tue, 16th Sep 2008 8:22 pm

    7. Yes, that’s what I meant (sorry took so long to respond). In August SezWho released a very detailed article (http://sezwho.com/install_bg_temp.php) on how to use the Blogger template to customize just about everything. But I’m not ready to ‘go there’ just yet! Also on the forum they stated that future release will have a directory of users and their blogs so you can capitalize on common SezWho logs. Glad you have everything you want without customizing.

    SBAs last blog post..Add Style To Your Menu With Buttons

  7. John Dilbeck on Tue, 16th Sep 2008 10:13 pm

    8. Hi SBA,

    I like the idea of SezWho having a directory of users and their blogs.

    I looked at the page of instructions you listed and I don’t blame you for not wanting to do all that!

    I use the SezWho plugin on this blog (powered by WordPress), and it took just a few minutes to set things up. It wasn’t anything nearly as complicated as setting it up on a Blogger-powered blog.

    Act on your dream!

    JD

  8. SBA on Sat, 27th Sep 2008 10:58 am

    9. Blog Catalog recently added the option to ping your SezWho comments to your activity stream. If you click on the community icon, you get a window with your comments on all blogs except your own — just what I wanted for reference purposes (see my comment above). I hope SezWho can use this for the preview instead of cluttering it with the commentors blog. (are you listening SezWho?)

    SBAs last blog post..Combining Blogger Labels into Categories

  9. John Dilbeck on Sat, 27th Sep 2008 12:34 pm

    10. Hi SBA,

    It’s good to hear from you, again.

    Thanks for the update about SezWho being added to BlogCatalog. I just went and added it to my activity stream and it’s showing up in my Let’s Be Social! widget in the right column.

    When you say “click on the community icon,” I don’t quite follow you.

    Can you be a bit more detailed on this or provide a URL as an example?

    My hayfever’s driving me crazy this year and I’m not quite as sharp as I usually am.

    Act on your dream!

    JD

  10. SBA on Sat, 27th Sep 2008 12:55 pm

    11. Okay, blame it on the hayfever! Guess I didn’t explain well.

    Your widget links to http://sezwho.com/profile/id/490639 and it contains your comments on this blog. When I go to your BC profile, under “My communities” and click the SezWho icon I get the same link. But in my own case when I click the my community icon my blog comments are filtered out — they’re playing with my head (LOL). Why don’t you trying in on your BC profile and see what you get. They should pay us for this stuff….

    Apparently they know I’m viewing my profile so they filter, but NOT when you view other profiles [sounds a bit paranoid, I know!]

    P.S. do you know about your widget addiction? I’m trying to control mine…

    SBAs last blog post..Combining Blogger Labels into Categories

  11. John Dilbeck on Sat, 27th Sep 2008 4:32 pm

    12. I’m not seeing what you describe.

    I went to:

    http://sezwho.com/profile/id/490639

    There are comments I made on this blog and others, not just this one.

    Next, I went to:

    http://www.blogcatalog.com/account/communities

    I then scrolled down to the “Your Accounts” section and clicked the SezWho link and opened it in a new tab.

    I’m seeing the exact same set of comments as I did when going to the first link, above.

    I’ve tried this when I’m logged in at SezWho and when I’m not, with the same results.

    Either I can’t follow directions today or someone is messing with one or both of us! (grin)

    I’ve looked everywhere, but I don’t see a “My Communities” link anywhere on BlogCatalog.com.

    Act on your dream!

    JD

    PS. I’m testing a lot of widgets to see which ones have value for me and my readers. I probably won’t keep all of them, or I may test a few more. It’s all part of the process.

  12. SBA on Sat, 27th Sep 2008 5:17 pm

    13. Well I guess we need to stop meeting this way! Just to show I’m not crazy & you have hay fever, look at this snapshot I took while viewing my profile — http://l.b5z.net/i/u/6049594/i/blog/filteredsezwho.jpg (that’s about half the page). So to get to your other sezwho icon, go to your profile http://www.blogcatalog.com/user/johndilbeck and you’ll see the infamous ‘my communities’ I suspect it will also show you comments on your blog. Anyway, just curious and not worth any more time(need to write a real post!).

    SBAs last blog post..Combining Blogger Labels into Categories

  13. OfficeSupplyGeek on Sat, 27th Dec 2008 3:40 pm

    14. Wanted to leave a quick thanks for the info on sezwho, I just implemented it on my blog as a result of the feedback you have posted here.

  14. John Dilbeck on Sun, 28th Dec 2008 12:25 pm

    15. Good morning, OfficeSupplyGeek.

    Welcome to our discussions. I hope you’ll feel free to participate and come back often.

    I just visited your blog and see SezWho working there.

    I like being able to see someone’s recent comments by hovering over the “Who am I?” link next to their name. It gives me a better idea of who they are and what they are interested in.

    Sometimes, I go look at an interesting thread depending solely on what I see in their SezWho recent comments.

    Now, if we can just get more visitors to our blogs to vote thumbs up or down on our posts and comments, it will be even more valuable as feedback.

    Thanks for your comment.

    Act on your dream!

    JD

  15. SBA on Sun, 28th Dec 2008 12:36 pm

    16. Hi John, Happy Holidays! I just received notice of this comment by Officesupplygeek — brings back our long discussion on SezWho and lets us know someone else is intereted! Maybe he can solve the mystery on how BC treats the profile displays. LOL I haven’t run across too many blog lately with this feature…

    SBAs last blog post..‘Tis The Season For Bloggers Too

  16. John Dilbeck on Sun, 28th Dec 2008 5:28 pm

    17. Good afternoon, SBA.

    It’s good to hear from you, again.

    I’ve been enjoying the holidays and hope you have, too.

    To tell the truth, I forgot about our discussion.

    I’ve been on several blogs with SezWho and I’m doing my part to rate articles and comments – something most people aren’t doing.

    I like the simplified Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down choices as compared to the five stars that were previously used.

    I hope you have a wonderful 2009.

    Act on your dream!

    JD

  17. Tool for Internet Marketing on Sat, 10th Jan 2009 10:40 pm

    18. I’ve been trying to decide whether I’m going to install SezWho on a few of my blogs of not. The best thing about Sezwho is maybe that it makes user collaboration so much more easier and fun. I can’t see how many users would actually bother to rate another user’s comment. But I guess the SezWho point system gives a glimpse of how authoritative the commenter is.

    Cheers.

  18. John Dilbeck on Sun, 11th Jan 2009 4:22 am

    19. Good morning. Welcome to our discussions.

    The main thing I like about SezWho is that I can see what the person is commenting about on other blogs and sometimes I find interesting conversations I want to join.

    Not many people use the ratings, but I’m seeing a little more than there was at first.

    I try to rate most of the comments, and I like the simpler thumbs up or down system that was introduced recently.

    Act on your dream!

    JD

  19. ask web directory on Mon, 26th Jan 2009 12:36 am

    20. Interesting article John. I’m still new to blogging and these topics still amuses me. But i would really love to try it out. Anyway learnt quite a lot from your article. Thanks

  20. John Dilbeck on Mon, 26th Jan 2009 7:34 am

    21. Good morning, ask web directory.

    I don’t really know what to call you because you didn’t use your name in your comment.

    Welcome to our discussions.

    I like SezWho and find it easy to use and practically maintenance-free after installing it here.

    It would be more useful if more people would rate posts and comments, which is easier now that the choices are either Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down instead of choosing from one to five stars.

    Act on your dream!

    JD

  21. Press Release Services on Thu, 29th Jan 2009 3:06 am

    22. Nice work John. even I’m a SezWho fan. been using it on my personal blog for quite sometime. and yes, as you’ve mentioned in your previous comment, its either thumbs up or down. Which is simple and as much as effective as the stars.

  22. John Dilbeck on Wed, 4th Feb 2009 4:13 pm

    23. Good afternoon Press Release Services.

    I appreciate your comment about SezWho. Thanks for visiting.

    Act on your dream!

    JD

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