By DM Yates
Hi. I’m Donna. I’m a writer/poet/reviewer/blogger and I’m excited to do this guest blog. I thought about what to write, and I decided I want to share with everyone how I network myself and others through Internet sites.
Pack your bags and follow me as I spend 2 days networking for my blog and my writings.
I start my morning with a cup of coffee and my emails. They've gotten out of hand again. I have 184. I use my usual formula, clearing off all ads and non-essential ones. Next, starting from the bottom I go through 10, some leading me to blogs where I leave comments, some from friends/relatives and I reply. Then I go to the newest and clear off 10 more, commenting or replying as necessary. That's done.
I move on to my next task. I need to update my coke points so I go to www.mycokerewards.com and enter the cap codes. What has this site to do with networking? Nothing, really, but as my points tally, I can get 1yr free subscriptions to different magazines. I'm an avid reader, and who wouldn't get 1 free year of a magazine if you could? Right now, I'm receiving 'Wired' a tech magazine so I can stay up with all the latest info. Plus, I can use my coke points to purchase gifts for giveaways on my blog!
Time to go to work. I want to set up My Google Library and connect it to my profile on Google. That way, people can see what I’m reading and read my review. It took longer than I thought because I had to browse all the books they have for sale and for free. No time to add books. That will come another day. I joined their Library blog to stay on top of all the libraries and book stores Google is making agreements with. Can you imagine, Book Lover, finding THE book from some tiny bookstore in Maine, and being able to purchase it? Google now claims access to nearly 3 million books. I picture myself surrounded by those lovely books and sigh happily.
Since I'm in Google, I go to Reader where most of the blogs I follow are organized. I pick 5 and comment. Ooh! One is having a fun give-away, so I enter that contest. As long as I'm still in Google, I go to G+ and connect with some of the people there, leaving comments and #1 their posts. Here's one from the Ukraine. I bring up Google Translate and like what he's saying so I #1 it. I have several circles of international friends now.
Back to my emails to clear off more. I have a message that I have another follower in Networked Blogs, so I sign in and follow back. While there I check to see if there's any other blogs I want to follow and read some posts. Since it's in Facebook, I get caught up with everyone's comments and go to EverAfterPR Book Reviews to post a quote and read the latest news there.
Back to work. I run over to Triberr to stream any of my tribesmembers' posts. Some I'll send to StumbleUpon, Facebook, LinkdIn, and #1 it. I belong to 3 tribes, one of which I manage. While there, one tribesmember is talking about a new app. I love it and decide to use it. Not as easy as I thought. It takes so much time, it's now my lunch. I'll have to try again tomorrow.
After lunch I go back to Triberr, stream more posts and read some of the blogs. I leave comments to Dino that I will be in Google hangout for 2 conferences - one about StumbleUpon, which I've just joined and haven't figured it all out yet.
I'm back at my mail, and I have one from mediabistro. Mediabistro has short blurbs on what is new in the internet communities and always lists a free e-book. Can't resist a book, and certainly not a free one. This time it is Edgar Rice Burroughs 'A Princess of Mars'. Gotta have it so I download to my Kindle.
I have several notifications on people who've commented on my blog (I head over there and thank them for their comments and check out new followers - some I'll follow back), bookblogs.ning (I run over there and comment on at least 5 blogs while checking on my group, Believe in Yourself - I am revamping it), the BlogFrog (I go there and answer comments in my group, another Believe in Yourself, and make comments on others' communities and read and comment on some blogs), Bloggers.com (new friends to approve and blogs to vote on), and Bloglovin' (read and comment on current blogs in there).
The rest of the day I spend working on my stories and poems.
By night-time, I am behind again. Training in Squidoo was on my list, as was reading my friend's book in Smashwords. I move them to a different day.
2nd Day. I get my coffee and go to Pinterest to add pins. I have a board in Pinterest where I can show my favorite books. How great is that? So I do a book review and I can put the cover there. I make comments on some pics I like and repin some pics, sometimes following the people.
Today, I work in linkdIn and Goodreads, commenting in groups; the poetry group I'm in in WritersDigest Community and read their helpful suggestions on writing; & Shelfari where I have another group. I invite people to join and add comments to any posts. I run over to twitter and read through tweets, fav'ing some, replying to some, and retweeting some. I update with new followers and decide if I want to follow them back or not.
I post a book review on my blog and head over to Twitter, Facebook, LinkdIn, Bookblogs.ning, and SheWrites Blogger to announce my post. I also go to Amazon.com and Goodreads to write a review. These reviews will be shared on Facebook because I've connected them. Since my blog is linked to most of these, I get double exposure in all places. Plus in Twitter, all my tribesmates will stream it, giving me about 40 more tweets.
It's now lunchtime. After lunch, I read more chapters of the how-to manual for Gimp, which I downloaded and can't quite figure out how to fix pictures there. I go to Triberr and work on the app, and it works! Now when I stream to twitter, it will show my blog as the source instead of Triberr's. Yes! More recognition!
I spend the rest of the afternoon on my writings and poetry.
By evening, I recount where I've been the last two days and how many people I've contacted. I am amazed! In the old days, you'd knock on doors, mail ads, post ads in newspapers and magazines, and even do home parties. Today, every day, I have more and more contacts, but not just for me. Anybody I write about or books I review now get more coverage. But the best part of all, are all the endearing friends I'm making and the fun of scavenger hunting the Internet for my likes.
I wind down by going to Pogo and playing some word games (of course). Then off to bed to start a new book.
Networking on the Internet – so quick, so easy, and so much exposure.
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