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First off, I want to thank all the new folks who have come by specifically for the MyBlogLog 101 posts parts 1 and 2. Most of the new traffic has come from two specific places, Andy Beard was nice enough to post a link from his blog to here about my posts and that is where Eric Marcoullier, one of the founders of MBL learned of my post and was gracious enough to post it to The MyBlogLog blog.
Based on all the comments I received here as well as the great deal of messages I received on MBL, I wanted to add one more thought or two to my first two posts. One of the most common messages I received from people was they were having problems getting any attention on MBL and were either getting discouraged and/or frustrated with why it was not working for them. I thought I would share a thought I had on this.
My recommendation is try not to think so big right out of the gate. As Eric said very well in his post,
“Relationships are built on personal connection, on the fine-grained details, the shared experiences that unveil themselves over time.”
I could not agree with him more. I think during my first 30 days on MBL I found a half a dozen other blogs that I enjoyed the bloggers’ writings and began commenting on them. That turned into discussions between our blogs, followed by emails and now these people have earned my respect and hopefully I have earned theirs. And even though I have yet to meet any of these people in person, which I absolutely want to do, I would not hesitate to call any of these people my friends which for me personally is much more important than how much traffic my blog is getting.
The other part of this equation is to get respect you need to work just as hard as the people who you are trying to get the attention from. If you are not putting out a quality product on your blog, no matter how much you are reaching out to folks you are not going to get that far. Though you should not look at this as a bad thing. One of the things I enjoy most is that my fellow bloggers push me to be better than I am. When I read a great post from Andy Beard, Sean Howard, Mike Sansone, Matt Havercamp, Robyn McMaster, Dave C, Bob Glaza among a number of other folks that rocks my world, I want to come back with a post of my own that’s as good or even better. That is what makes the blogosphere so damn exciting for me and why I believe we are living in a time that is going to change everything in the future.
I guess that is why I am writing this at 3:15 am when I have to get up in three hours for work. 
Thanks again for everyone’s comments, thoughts and opinions. They are as always greatly appreciated and I will be more than happy to answer any other questions and listen to any opinions people have.
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Keep cranking em out Cord. Time for me to get back into the game after some time riding the pine.
What’s up Matt? D1d we hit the blogging wall lately? Can I do anything to help? Let me know as I totally agree with you.
Just keep writing the good stuff. Been busy here at WPNI. Lots of balls in the air right now. In a llittle funk since my Heels went down to the Hoyas. Missing Tobaccoo road.
Matt - I hear ya, the Heels lose hurt a lot of people down here. You let me know if there is anything I can do to help you. I was thinking of getting some people together and having like a round robin debate across multi-blogs. Something like that.
That’s an awesome idea. What topics get ya going?
It’s a great series, Cord. Glad to see it get some additional coverage.
One of the coolest things about MBL is all the new bloggers I’ve met from all over the world. Then I come to find that after meeting you through MBL and reading your blog, commenting, etc., that we live only a few hours away from each other.
Small world
Great thread here Cord. It’s fun to watch your blog grow and blossom like it has. I can say I knew you when…
I think the important thing for people to consider is that technology does not build relationships for you. I don’t have to tell you how many people think that creating a website will magically bring sales to a company.
Just like everything else in life, in order to get attention you have to have value. Getting in front of people and saying they have a nice blog isn’t enough. You have to be smart about the friends you choose and you have to talk about things that they find interesting.
If you are just going around looking for all the people you can find and trying to be their contact, how is that valuable.
We all like cord because he has a great personality, a good head for marketing and talks about things we all find interesting and lets face it, the guy is just lovable.
He is not getting good press and regular blog readers because he is successfully marketing him self in MyBlogLog. He is gaining popularity because we all find him valuable. For one reason or another, we like to read what he has to write.
We used to have a saying back in the day when referring to a client who wanted us to market a bad website, “You can’t polish a turd”.
The lesson here is that if your blog is a turd, all the MyBlogLog connections in the world aren’t going to make it successful.
Social Media Technologies like MyBlogLog do not add value to a site or blog, they just help you to reach new people and bring your value to them in new ways.
Matt - Let me think about some topics and I will get back to you.
Tony - I totally agree. I think as time goes on we got to find a conference or event and everyone get together in person.
Adam - Thank you for your kind words and I could not agree with you more. You can’t polish a turd no matter how many times you and I have tried in our past lives.
Thank you all for sharing your thoughts and opinions.
Cord, thanks so much for the recognition. Fact is, I first discovered you and your blog through MyBlogLog. It’s a great way to see who’s part of the blogging world so you can go check out what they do. I’ve come back to your site a lot because you share ideas that I can use.
I’m glad you’re concerned about the managers at Circuit City and have spoken on their behalf. I have bought a lot of my hardware from them and the guys at our local store are great. They stepped out to give me a better deal and they follow up well when I need help, too.
“You can’t polish a turd no matter how many times you and I have tried in our past lives.”
I had to read that 3 times… and sure enough! Yes, I *did* read that right!! LOL….
Robyn - Thank you for your very kind words and I could not agree more. I am sorry your post got caught in the spam filter, I don’t know why that happened.
Ann - LOL, you sure did read it. Adam and I use to work together and I am sure you have dealt with this as well when you have a client who thinks they have the greatest thing since sliced bread when really what they have and .35 cents could buy them a paper in the morning. Thanks for stopping by!
Hey Cord,
I have been visiting here for the last few days now… been quiet, just reading…
I want to thank you for the great MBL series. Very well put together article about MyBlogLog. I am sure many will find it very useful.
Hey Cord, here’s one tip I still haven’t figured out about MyBlogLog. How do I get my screen shot to appear in place of the grey “image not available” screen?
Nothing on the site has been helpful. People have made suggestions that haven’t worked or that I wasn’t able to follow. Some have said it’s supposed to be an automatic process. Plus, I haven’t gotten any response from the MyBlogLog people themselves.
What’s the real answer man?
Garry - Thanks for the kind words my friend. I recently checked out your blog and thought it had some great articles in it. Keep up the great work.
Martin - Here is what you need to do.
Go to your MyBlogLog Page, not your community, the page that has your contacts on it.
Right next to your blank picture there are three buttons. The last one says Edit Settings. Click on that.
The fifth entry down on the page is a screenshot button click on the button that says click to update.
This where you can upload a picture of your site or anything else and save it so it comes up. If you are not familiar withhow to take a screenshot of your site, let me know and I will do it for you.
I hope this helps.
Hi Mr. Cord,
I tried to follow your suggestion on how to update the screenshot, but everytime I clicked on “EditSetting” button, it send me to my profile. And when I uploaded the screenshoot, the only thing that changes is my avatar!
Any ideas, Mr. Cord? It has been quite awhile since I last do it. Maybe I missed to click something, or maybe “click to update” thingy not working anymore?
Hope to hear from you soon.
Greeting from Malaysia.