“Please Educate Me On…”
My recent post on “Why Dont You Leave a Comment“, was to help show readers how to leave comments on blogs.
In conversations I had with my 3D friends, they felt uncomfortable leaving comments because they didn’t know how, and because they thought nobody wanted to hear what they had to say anyway.
There was quite a mixed reaction to the post by way of comments with readers explaining why they do or do not leave comments. It’s an interesting read. One of the comments left by “Mini” was asking for more information:
I dont leave comments cuz I feel it is unfamiliar territory - I am not blog wise - so if you are trying to educate since you explained how to comment, please educate me also as to RSS, Shin, Plug and Zoom - or are those areas only for the blogger-knowledgeable folks ?? You see, if I am confused about all the terms, commenting does not come easy.. thanks for the education
That’s really a two part question. The first is dealing with RSS, and the second is dealing with the social site buttons being displayed on a blog.
In this post, let’s talk about the buttons that are displayed on the posts. There are so many different buttons that any blogger can choose to display on a post, some cater to Internet Marketing, and Blogging while others cater to different “niche” topics.
The purpose of displaying the buttons is for the blogger to get your “vote” on the article. The more votes an article receives, the higher it advances in that particular social site, and the more publicity it gets.
The buttons are on display for all readers to use, though admittedly they are mostly only used by other bloggers who know what they are for. Some networking sites require that you become a member before you can use the buttons, others allow any reader to click them.
The 3 buttons that Mini asked about are on my posts.
This button to a social networking site called PlugIM. “PlugIM is a user driven internet marketing community. Submit content, share articles, comment on projects and promote your favorites to the front page”. With Plug IM, you do not need an account to promote an article that you like. All you have to do is click the plug button, and the counter will increase.
Sphinn.com is a newer social site that is all about Internet Marketing News. “It’s designed to allow you to share and discover news stories, read and take part in discussions, discover events of interest and network with others” In order to use this button, you must have an account with Sphinn.
Blogging Zoom is a newer social site dedicated to bloggers, and at present is my favorite of the three. “We are here to give every blogger, popular or not, a chance to showcase their content and talents. BZ was created by bloggers for bloggers, and we are dedicated to providing people with the tools and knowledge they need to increase their blogs’ popularity”. With Blogging Zoom, you do need to set up a profile in order to be able to zoom articles, but you dont need a blog to be part of the community. You can join just as a way of finding great info, and then start zooming it.There are hundreds of social networking sites like these and many of them have buttons that will displayed on a blog. The submission process should be relatively the same for all of them. The questions of course would be whether or not you have to be a member of the site in order to click on a button and vote for that article. The way to find out would be to try. 
It certainly won’t hurt anything, and you may find a community that provides great information that you want to be a part of.
Look for upcoming posts to where I will be showcasing certain social sites. I also will spend more time on RSS and how it can be used to save you time, and keep you up to date on your favorite blogs.
BTW - If you like an article on Home with Heather, go ahead and click on the buttons. It would be greatly appreciated.
Expect the Best,
Blogging, blogging zoom, bz, comments, plugim, reader questions, Social Networking, social sites, sphinn, su
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February 6th, 2008 16:20
“Please Educate Me On…”…
In a recent post "Why don’t you leave any comments?", one of my readers asked for more information. "I dont leave comments cuz I feel it is unfamiliar territory - I am not blog wise - so if you are trying to educate since you explained …
February 6th, 2008 17:11
Thank you HWH… your information is exactly what I needed .. the terminology always has been confusing for me and perhaps others.. thank you for the clarification…would certainly give you a PLUG on this article and the last article too regarding leaving comments… and looking forward to your RSS info
February 6th, 2008 21:07
Uhm; Heather, I have a different take on this issue. I really don’t think leaving comment is that big a task. Technically, if someone comes to this blog, that means he/she is able to read and write English; right? Now, in the comments section, all you need to do is, leave your name, email, type something in the box, and click the button. It’s as easy as 1-2-3. Kinda like filling a form in day-to-day life. Why would anyone have a difficulty in doing this? Blogger or non-blogger, I don’t think commenting is that tough a task which needs to be taught. JMHO.
But I do agree on RSS and social bookmarking stuff. Not everyone knows all this stuff and a little bit of lesson is always appreciated, which you’re doing now. Good job.
February 6th, 2008 23:00
Heather I have found securing comments to be the most challenging of tasks in blogging, I have concluded it is similar to walking into a new store, you may look around a bit , but buy on a return visit. perhaps even your third visit, There are many choices to make when commenting for site visitors.
Making Sales making Money’s last blog post..Caroline Middlebrook and I Just Disagree
February 7th, 2008 05:13
@ Mini - You are most welcome
Hope it helps and if you have more questions, certainly don’t be afraid to ask them. 
@ Kris - You and I are bloggers. We deal with stuff all the time, but there are people out there who don’t. They would like to, but are intimidated by the whole process. It’s like doing anything that is NEW to you, may be make you nervous and need a bit of help at first. That’s more who it is directed at.
@Making Sales making money - I agree, just giving a hand to those who need help in the store
Heather
February 7th, 2008 08:05
Thanks Kris - your response is exactly why I won’t likely comment again - (after this comment at least) - you nailed it exactly - Mini is an idiot, right ?? at least that seems to be the opinion expressed in your comment — Good job. -).(-
February 7th, 2008 19:51
Hey Mini,
I didn’t mean to offend you. Really sorry if I did. My point was, there is no need to worry about things that are not worth worrying about. Writing a comment is just like filling a form in your daily life. We do that all the time and we don’t need someone to help us. But if you do need someone to help you out in commenting, that’s your wish. I was just expressing my opinion. You know the saying “Opinion is like as***, everyone has got one”; right?
So, I could be wrong. Don’t leave this blog just because I said something. I’m not an authority in blogging/commenting or any other matter and I could be even wrong. The blog owner is a sweet lady and you can learn a lot from her. My two cents.
Again, really sorry if I’ve hurt you by any means.
Thanks
February 8th, 2008 05:42
Thanks Kris… I appreciate you taking the time to come and post that.
I didn’t think you meant to offend, you’re a good guy.
February 8th, 2008 05:51
Thanks for the reassurance Heather. I’m pretty forthright when it comes to expressing my opinion. Never thought it could have this big an impact on someone. I really felt bad to know that Mini took offense. It was not my intention. My intention was to make the fact clear that commenting is not as tough as it looks like. I sincerely hope she comes back to this blog.
February 8th, 2008 19:10
Heather - Great post and so was the one that ‘introduced’ this post. Way to go.
You might want to visit a post on our site that addresses this same issue. When, if you choose to visit, you’ll find related posts that dovetail with your posts. Take care and as always, you’re over the top.
Here’s the link: http://freetraffictip.com/10-e.....enting.php
MorganLighter’s last blog post..Tool Time Friday | Splish-Splash, I was taking a bath
February 9th, 2008 22:31
The truth is that those of us who have websites are commenting in a genuine effort to network online and make meaningful business relationships. You bring up excellent points about insecurity of commenting and as someone new to the business blog deal, you helped me understand a lot more about what I am doing myself. So thank you and I agree.
February 9th, 2008 22:36
Robin I agree with you 100%, commenting in any online business website or blog is essential to building relationships.
Making Sales making Money’s last blog post..Home Based Business Group Writing Project
February 10th, 2008 03:40
Commenting on blogs is really important when it comes to building link popularity and you will learn a lot when visiting other peoples blogs as well.More bloggers are removing the “no follow” -tag from the comments area and this encourages people to make comments.
Tom Lindstrom’s last blog post..Using Forums To Generate Traffic To Your Home Business Site
February 10th, 2008 10:41
Morgan - Thanks! I did stop by your site. As always, another very helpful post.
Robin - I’m glad you found it useful. Commenting can be difficult at first for those new to the world of blogging and IM.
Tom - Very true about the no follow tags. It really does encourage more comments to be left. I’ll have to pop by and check out your site.
February 14th, 2008 13:09
Good job, Heather. I just subscribed by email. I might have to start
plagiarizingborrowing some of this stuff.February 14th, 2008 15:34
You make a good point. While commenting seems easy, and it is, there probably is some apprehension involved with newbies or non-bloggers. It’s always good to educate even on things that we find simple.
You have given me an idea of creating some blog education pages and that will be linked by a “What’s This?” link on the main page side bars. Therefore, any curious visitors will be able to learn more. I’m going to have to initiate that.
February 15th, 2008 09:18
Very good detail here Heather, Zoomed.
I’m a big believer in subscribing through RSS feed, so consider me subscribed.
Lin Burress’s last blog post..Write For Us - Recruiting Guest Bloggers
April 13th, 2008 19:46
Leaving comments is a great way to build relationships. It also furthers the topic of discussion and brings up ideas for possible future posts to answer any questions from the comments. I find on my blogs I tend to use comments more than my email for networking with others
May 1st, 2008 04:54
thanks, good post, blog to rss reader :))
June 16th, 2008 04:44
Well its a nice topic and helpful in my studies. I liked the blog … keep it up buddy.