What is your opinion of social networking?

November 15, 2008 by John Dilbeck · 13 Comments
Filed under: Attracting Visitors, Business Networking, Poll, Social Networking, Twitter 

Over the last couple of years, I’ve invested a lot of time and effort into using a variety of social networking sites to enlarge my circle of friends and associates on the web. I believe that it is working out well for me and I’m enjoying keeping in touch with my online friends.

Until today, I was showing a couple of widgets from MyBlogLog.com that showed the social networking sites I’m active on and some of the latest things I’ve written on a variety of the sites I frequent.

It turns out that those widgets were interfering with the appearance of polls I create using PollDaddy.com, so I moved both of the social networking widgets to a new social networking page, here on this blog.

That solved two problems I’ve been having.

One, it speeds up page loads a bit because it reduces calls to MyBlogLog.com from every page.

Two, it makes it possible to add polls to articles I write. I don’t know how many polls I’ll be creating, but I’m going to try a few to see what we can learn.

There is an art to creating polls that get reliable results. I am not a master of that art, yet. Therefore, I’m afraid that some of my polls will be worded incorrectly and may skew the results. Since nothing really important will be affected by these polls, I’m not going to worry much about it and I’ll just add polls when there is something I’d like to learn more about from the readers of this blog and other places I’ll show the polls.

You never have to participate in the polls, but I welcome your voting and your comments.

In the following poll, I’m asking your opinion of social networking. I realize that your opinion may not match my preconceived notions, so you can select multiple choices and add your own if it isn’t already there.

To add your own answer if it doesn’t match one of the choices next to the checkboxes, just enter it in the gray text bar between the last checkbox and the View Results link. (At least, that’s what I hope it will do.)

When you’ve made your selections or added your “other” opinion, don’t forget to click on the Vote button.

I look forward to your opinions and thoughts about social networking.

Act on your dream!

JD

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Wrong and right ways to participate in social networking

September 8, 2008 by John Dilbeck · Comments Off
Filed under: Business Networking, Social Networking 

I enjoy reading Lynn Terry’s blog, because I almost always learn something new or find something that makes me think a bit deeper about affiliate marketing, social networking, blogging, running a home business, and other topics she writes about.

I’m thinking about her right now because she just wrote a couple of excellent posts on her blog about the wrong and right ways to engage in social networking.

Social Media Marketing (A Warning)

How to Use Social Media… Successfully

I cringe a bit every time I see someone suggesting creating multiple profiles on social networking sites and using software to automate friend requests and posting links. Please don’t do this.

Lynn addresses these types of issues in her warnings about the wrong way to use social media.

She offers ten tips on the right way to participate in her second article about how to use social media successfully.

If you are interested in business networking, social networking, and using social media correctly, you should take the time to read both of her articles.

She promises that a case study on using social media is forthcoming and I’m looking forward to it.

Thanks, Lynn.

Act on your dream!

JD

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Are you looking for a list of great social networking sites?

September 1, 2008 by John Dilbeck · 3 Comments
Filed under: Attracting Visitors, Blogging, Business Networking, Promote Yourself, Social Networking 

I have found that participating on social networking sites has helped my business grow and I’ve met some great people in the process. Some have become real friends.

It takes time and effort to network effectively, so don’t think it can be done in a few days or weeks, and don’t try to do it more quickly by using software to speed up the process.

If you sincerely want to network with other like-minded people and you’re willing to take your time and socialize with them – not just spam your ads towards them – then you’ll find a great list of social networking sites on Kelly Stone’s blog:

Want A List Of Social Networking Sites?

I just found Kelly’s blog and I’m finding lots of topics that interest me there.

Yes, I found her through social networking.

I saw her on a Recent Visitors widget on my Squidoo Marketing community and followed the link back to her MyBlogLog profile where I found her blog’s community and then visited her blog.

It sounds like a lot of effort, but it took only a few minutes.

Along the way, I joined her blog’s community and added her as a contact at MyBlogLog.com. Then, I subscribed to her blog via email so I won’t forget to keep in touch.

Have you been using social networking to help build your business and make new friends? It takes time, but it works.

I noticed that she didn’t have a link to www.apsense.com, which has a Google PR of 4, and an Alexa rank of 45,857.

I like Apsense, but haven’t had the time to play in their sandbox lately. It’s one of the things I intend to do more of in the near future.

If you’re not already a member, I’d like to extend an invitation to join Apsense and network with me there.

For an example of what you can do on Apsense, I would like to invite you to visit my profile and business center on the site.

If you would like to network with me on some of the other major social networking sites, please see the links to my profiles on the About page of this blog. I look forward to meeting you. We can probably connect most quickly on Twitter and MyBlogLog, because I’m more active on them than the others.

If you are active on any of the major social networking sites and would like to network with the readers of this blog, please leave a comment with links to a couple of your profile pages. While you’re doing that, I would enjoy reading about your experiences in social networking and your major areas of interest.

So, on which of the social networking sites have you pitched your tent?

Act on your dream!

JD

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Two Squidoo Titans unite to build your lenses for you

August 25, 2008 by John Dilbeck · 2 Comments
Filed under: Attracting Visitors, Marketing, Promote Yourself, Social Networking, Squidoo Lenses, Squidoo Marketing, Writing 

Do you want to get started in social networking, but don’t have the time or expertise needed to do it yourself? Now, you don’t have to. You can have your lenses built and promoted and then transferred to you, all in a couple of weeks or so.

Tiffany Dow and Lewis Smile – experts on Squidoo – are now at your service.

Who are they?

Here’s part of what Tiffany has to say about herself and her qualifications…

I know how to get into the Top 100 LensRank, how to create content both Googlebots and human traffic devour (since I’ve been the top ghostwriter to many famous marketers over the past 6 years), and how to use group participation to garner traffic! I’ve achieved lens of the day for an instant flood of traffic and I’ve earned tens of thousands of dollars using Squidoo as my traffic funnel to products and services alike.

Seth Godin (owner of Squidoo) even blogged about my Squidoo success on his own blog! Plus, I’ve been bestowed with Giant Squid Status!

Lewis talks about his qualifications and says this (and more)…

He’s a Citizen Squid Alumni (one of the 6 original lensmasters chosen by Squidoo HQ to work on secret Squidoo projects). He is also a retired SquidAngel (one of the 12 human elements of the Squidoo algorithm).

He has achieved Lens of the Day THREE TIMES, which is more than anyone else, so he knows exactly what it takes to make a great lens. In total, his lenses have spent over 600+ days in the Top 100 LensRank list, and he has achieved the elusive Lensrank 1.

And he has created over 500 lenses and groups across various Squidoo accounts, so he’s no stranger to the ‘Create a Lens’ button! Lewis is also a Giant Squid. Oh, and he recently won the ‘I Love Squidoo’ competition.

Even if you don’t know anything about Giant Squids, Squid Angels, or Citizen Squids, you can appreciate the talents of anyone who can compete with over a quarter-million people building lenses on Squidoo and still get in the top 100 of all lenses based on a number of criteria that isn’t known outside the people who own and manage Squidoo.com.

Anyone who can achieve what Tiffany and Lewis have, obviously know what they’re doing.

They’ve been developing their skills for building Squidoo lenses for a combined total of over four years and almost 1,000 lenses.

Now, as someone who has built about 70 lenses and who has been working on it a couple of years or so, I can tell you that there is a difference between building a lens – which anyone can do – and building a lens that ranks highly, attracts visitors, promotes your business, and earns money.

I’m a Giant Squid, too, but I haven’t achieved the kind of success that Tiffany and Lewis have. I’m still working on it, however!

Now, you don’t have to develop the skillset, do the research, write original content, build the lens, and promote it. You can outsource these tasks to a couple of specialists who will combine their talents and do it for you.

As they say…

So – you want to get into social networking, but don’t have room in your busy schedule to navigate a new site and set up your system of socialization?

Who has the time, knowledge and skill to set up a Squidoo lens, write 100% unique content, bookmark it at social bookmarking sites, add tags, blog about it, post it to Twitter, and generate some backlinks, to give it the best chance possible at pulling you visitors from Google and other search engines to funnel them to your main site as customers?

As a successful business owner, you already know the value of outsourcing tasks that require special skills, qualifications, and talent. That’s why you have a lawyer, accountant, copywriter, and other specialists on your team.

If you want to develop a better presence on the web, you should consider hiring Tiffany and Lewis to do it for you, in as little as two weeks.

Don’t put this off. Go right now and see what they will do to build your lens for you. It doesn’t cost a single penny to click the link and see what they have to say.

Act on your dream!

JD

PS. On the other hand, if you prefer to learn new skills and do your own promotions, you can build your own Squidoo lens and tell the world. It’s free.

Click the link to get started. Don’t get stressed out about your first lens. Build it on something you love and learn how Squidoo works. If you like it, you can keep it. If not, you can delete it and use what you learned to build a real lens.

Feel free to play with the first one just to learn how it all works.

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Are you in the Triiibe?

August 2, 2008 by John Dilbeck · Comments Off
Filed under: Business Networking, Marketing, Social Networking 

Seth Godin, marketing genius, online entrepreneur, and founder of Squidoo.com, has opened a new social networking site, and membership is by invitation only, at this point.

He has now opened it for another round of participants.

You can get the information on his blog in this post: Are you in the tribe?

He has an interesting way to qualify new members and to keep out the tire-kickers.

I followed the steps a couple of days ago and was invited to join the Triiibe. (Yes, that’s three “i”s in the name. He has an interesting explanation, in that it takes at least three people to become a group, and that the domain he wanted was already taken.)

The Triiibe is hosted on Ning.com, a site that I really like and which hosts my Squidoo Marketing community. (If you use Squidoo as part of your marketing mix, you’re invited to join us there.)

When I made it into Triiibe, I found almost 1,000 other people interested in the same topics I am, which include leadership, tribe building, marketing, and so forth.

I’m trying to catch up on some of the conversations and I’ve met some interesting new people and was happy to see some of my friends there, too.

Seth is on to something here, and if you’re interested, don’t let pre-purchasing his next book stop you from joining the Triiibe.

Act on your dream!

JD

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The personalized profile pages on I Love Hits continue to improve

July 22, 2008 by John Dilbeck · Comments Off
Filed under: Blogging, Business Networking, Marketing, Social Networking, Traffic Exchanges 

Recently, Jon Olson had a great idea and added personalized profile pages for ILoveHits.com members.

For example, here is my profile page: I Love Hits Blog for John Dilbeck.

Now, in addition to linking to several social networking sites, you can syndicate the RSS feed from one of your sites or blogs, link to a blog and/or website, and post entries to your very own blog.

Additionally, a members directory is starting to grow as more people edit their profile and add information to their pages. There is a link to the members directory on the bottom of each of our profile pages.

If you have edited your profile and created your ILH blog page, there is also a link to it on the bottom of the pages you promote on the I Love Hits traffic exchange.

Earlier this morning, when I logged in to the members page, the Locker Room, I noticed three entries from members’ blog postings. I don’t know if these are the three most recent posts or if they are a random selection. There may be other criteria at play, too.

Regardless of how they are selected, the blog postings are now starting to appear in other places and not just on your profile page. Three entries on the Locker Room page are in a prime location.

This just keeps getting better and better.

I also noticed that there is a new “Get to know me” badge with javascript that can be added anywhere you can post javascript. I just added it to the right column of this blog. If you click that badge, it will take you right to my personalized profile page.

This is a very nice addition, too.

Are you a member of ILoveHits.com?

Have you created your personalized profile page and posted to your blog there?

Act on your dream!

JD

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New lens for our Squidoo Marketing Community on Squidoo.com

March 16, 2008 by John Dilbeck · Comments Off
Filed under: Business Networking, Communities, Lenses, Marketing, Squidoo Lenses 

I recently created a new lens for our Squidoo Marketing Community at Squidoo.com.

Its purpose is to syndicate a couple of RSS feeds from our new Squidoo Marketing social networking site. The new lens republishes the Latest Activities feed toward the top and the Forum feed toward the bottom.

Additionally, you are invited to vote in our poll and participate in the duel.

You’ll need to be a Squidoo lensmaster to participate, and you can become one for free. I recommend Squidoo and have numerous lenses there with more on the drawing board.

Are you an expert on something? Build your own Squidoo lens and tell the world. It’s free, and you may even earn some money from it.

Please feel free to link to the new lens at:

http://www.squidoo.com/squidoo-marketing-community

I look forward to seeing your feedback on the lens and please – if you want – rank the lens (5 stars is best) and offer your comments in the duel or the comments section at the bottom of the lens.

You’ll note that the people who are participating the most on our new social network are the ones who are getting mentioned the most on our new lens.

How easy is that?

All you have to do is participate on our social networking site. I’ll be republishing those feeds on other sites I own. That means that there will be more links to your profile page as you participate more and as I have the time to syndicate the news feeds on more sites.

Can you think of something I should add to the new lens to make it more useful? All suggestions are welcome.

Act on your dream!

JD

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Calling all Squidoo lensmasters

March 11, 2008 by John Dilbeck · 1 Comment
Filed under: Advertising and Marketing, Communities, Marketing, Social Networking, Squidoo Lenses 

Are you a lensmaster on Squidoo?

If you are, I’m inviting you to join a new social networking site for Squidoo marketing, where our goal is to help each other do a better job of creating lenses that are used for marketing.

Want to increase the revenue you earn from your lenses? Come and talk about them. Attract new visitors. Learn new techniques and share your own.

Want to become a Squidoo lensmaster?

Everyone is an expert on something. Squidoo provides an easy way to build one-page websites called lenses that you can use to focus attention on a particular subject that you know and love.

It’s free, and Squidoo even shares any revenue they earn from your lens with you. There are many of us who get a monthly deposit from Squidoo into our PayPal accounts. I just got a deposit into mine a couple of days ago. You can, too.

Are you an expert on something?

Build your own Squidoo lens and tell the world. It’s free, of course.

Then, come join us at the Squidoo marketing community.

We’ll help each other become better lensmasters.

Act on your dream!

JD

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APsense – A Free Business Social Network

October 3, 2007 by John Dilbeck · Comments Off
Filed under: Act On Your Dream!, Advertising, Business Networking, Communities, Forums, Marketing, Sitesell and Site Build It 

I’ve been looking for a good social networking site that is specifically targeted at helping us promote our businesses and meet other business owners and entrepreneurs.

Of the dozen or more I joined, each has it’s good and bad points, but most of them don’t work the way I do and I’ve had a hard time finding one with the members I want to meet and interact with.

Over the Labor Day weekend, I took some time to really look into APsense and liked what I saw.

So, I’ve decided that the majority of my business-related social networking will be done on APsense and I invite you to join me there – it’s free.

One of the things I like about APsense is that you get a profile page (as every other site offers) and a business center where you can promote business opportunities, advertise your products and services, collect testimonials, list resources you recommend, promote your business, and do other valuable promotional things.

When I got there, I searched the groups and found that several niches in which I’m active were not represented, so I created five new groups:

I’ve joined several other existing groups and started meeting interesting people.

If you want to try out APsense, come check it out for yourself.

Act on your dream!

JD

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