Wednesday, February 13, 2008

I did it again, didn't I? Updates and more ...

OK, it hasn't been 3 months yet ... but almost. I really need to take some time to focus on this blog every once in a while. This is most disgraceful - especially for a self-proclaimed "writer"!

Well, things on the work at home front are going well! I have managed to get a regular schedule going, and I'm working full time now with an online company! That's one of the reasons (ahem, no excuses here) that I've let this blog slip. In addition, I've started doing some additional research into Internet marketing, RSS and blogs, and traffic generation. I'll probably cover this more in another post - I do want to share some of the great stuff I get to do - there's a social side to it, and I want to invite you to my join as my friend! ;-)

I've come to a simple conclusion: it's time to get on the social networking bandwagon, or get off the road! About 5 years ago I read a great article about the future of the Internet, and what was going to drive all of our traffic: blogs, RSS, and pings. Well, I sat on my duff for several years, and caught the tail end of the wave. Sure, all of those things are there, and they still work, but not like they did when they first hit the net!

So what's the moral of my story? Social networking is all the rage NOW. Reviews are in, projections are out ... it IS the next wave of Internet traffic driving phenomenon. Now, this would apply very broadly to Digg, StumbleUpon, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, even YouTube and the like. There has been some discussion that even some of these sites are beginning to bog down - a result of which is the loss of "value" for the average user.

Take Technorati, for example. When it first came out, and for a year or so after that, it was a great resource! However, since the minions of black-hat marketers have been spamming the heck out of it, it has pretty much been overloaded with spammy blogs, etc. So it's usefulness for the average user has plummeted. It seems that has been the downfall of almost every single Internet resource ... after a period of time.

So the biggest advice I can give is this: look for the early warning signs of something taking off - and get on board! It's not about spamming, it's not about screwing people, it's not even about big business. But any business has to have traffic - even a brick and mortar store. So, go to where the traffic is, and invite them in! The cardinal rule, however, still applies: you must provide something of value - or they will NEVER come back.