Instigator Blog

Mack Collier has an idea for turning Technorati’s ranking methodology on its head. His take is that Technorati doesn’t adequately measure the value/importance of a blog because it focuses primarily on links. Well, it does need something to measure importance by, and links are a reasonable measurement of success in the blogosphere, but there are plenty of blogs out there that deserve attention and don’t get enough of it.

Mack’s idea is simple.

He’s listed a handful of blogs he feels deserve more attention. He’s asking people to copy and paste that list into their own blog post, adding as many additional blogs as they wish.

Each person that does this gives their own community a chance to copy and paste their list (you’ll see my list below). You do that, write your own blog post, add your own links, and each blog listed is going to get a lot of links back.

Those links will add to each blog’s Technorati ranking and ultimately get those blogs much more attention.

So here we go!

Here’s the list of blogs I want to highlight, including those that Mack originally linked to. His list is the first five.

Shotgun Marketing Blog
BrandSizzle
bizsolutionsplus
Customers Rock!
Being Peter Kim
Pow! Right Between The Eyes! Andy Nulman’s Blog About Surprise
Billions With Zero Knowledge
Working at Home on the Internet
MapleLeaf 2.0
darrenbarefoot.com

If you want to get involved, just copy and paste the blog links above. Put them into a post on your blog. Add as many other blogs as you like (or none at all) and ask your community to keep the meme alive.

Please don’t sneak your own blog into the list. I know you won’t, but I have to say it anyway!

I’m always happy to participate in this kind of project. It’s fast, easy and what you give you’ll get in return. If karma exists it exists in the blogosphere. Reciprocity and generosity are paramount within much of the blogosphere; at least those areas of it that I frequent. If I can give a little back, I’m happy to do so.

I hope Mack Collier tracks the meme as it circulates and let’s us all know how it’s going!

[tags]mack collier, technorati, blogging, weblog, blogs, online community, viral marketing, marketing, the viral garden[/tags]

Another quick reminder about the group writing project I’m launching on December 18, 2006. It’ll last a week, during which time you can write 1 or more posts answering this question:

What Did You Learn in 2006?

It’s broad, open-ended and leaves tons of possibilities for blogging. I hope you’ll participate.

Write your post, link back to Instigator Blog and tag your posts, “what I learned”. Feel free to email me about them too!

I’ll link over to you like crazy and sing your praises!

Plus, I’m donating $5 to charity for every post written.

And, I’ll be giving away some awesome prizes, including:

• Ron McDaniel’s new book Word of Mouth Marketing Challenges for the Entire Workforce
• Phil Gerbyshak’s book 10 Ways to Make It Great! (two signed copies!)
• The Monk and the Riddle: The Art of Creating a Life While Making a Living by Randy Komisar (recommended by Austin Hill)
• What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging and Podcasting by Ted Demopoulos
• Marketing Outrageously by Jon Spoelstra (recommended by Jim Kukral)

Hard to go wrong with great book prizes, lending a helping hand and inspirational blog posting. I look forward to everyone’s contributions, and wish you a great holiday season.

We all lead crazy lives. If we could magically add an hour to the day, most of us would add two just so we could get a little more done.

And if you’re like me you work from several places - an office, at home, in the bathroom, while driving, while sleeping…

The more projects I add to my existing schedule the more notes I’m taking. The more notes I take, the more I think about a more effective system of note-taking. I’m fairly effective when it comes to maintaining a lean, mean, fighting to-do list, but it’s all the other little scraps of notes that are getting to me:

• reminders
• ideas / brainstorms
• websites to visit later
• passwords
• contacts
• etc.

And let’s not forget my favorite: those weird, kooky messages I write myself before falling asleep that are impossible to interpret the next morning.

So now I’m left wondering…How SHOULD I track all this stuff?

I know there are software applications to handle to-dos…maybe that’s the answer. There are note-taking tools, and you can use neat little applications to let you mark-up web pages/add sticky notes to them as reminders, etc. I’m not so sure it’s even about which tool to use, as much as it’s about building a system for myself that works.

It’s not a question of falling behind or even about things falling through the cracks (at least not yet!) It’s about consolidating everything that’s going on into one system/structure and place that I can use effectively and brainlessly (the system has to be so easy that I’ll stick with it.)

Help!

How do you keep track of E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G? Is it even possible?

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For the final group writing project at Instigator Blog in 2006 we’re asking the question, “What did you learn this year?”

That should spark a wide range of ideas and blog posts from people, and hopefully inspire a little creativity and fun.

The group writing project starts Monday December 18th and you’ve got 1 week to contribute a post (or more!)

Please read all the details of the group writing project on my previous post.

I’m tossing in some great prizes for people who contribute! So far we’ve got books from Phil Gerbyshak, Ted Demopoulos, Randy Komisar and Jon Spoelstra.

We’ve got another book prize coming to us from Ron McDaniel of Buzzoodle. He’s donating his new book on buzz marketing, Buzzoodle Buzz Marketing: 57 Word of Mouth Marketing Challenges for the Entire Workforce. Thanks Ron!

As well, I’ve decided to donate $5 for every blog post you write for this project. That money is going to go to The Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation and The Montreal Gazette Christmas Fund (helps feed hungry families during the holidays.) Kids just shouldn’t get sick, and no one should go hungry, it makes no sense.

The more blog posts you write for this group writing project, the more you tell others to write, the more I’ll donate. It’s my way of saying THANK YOU for being a part of my life and community, and helping out at such an important time of year.

Tell Us What You Learned in 2006 - Starting December 18th…

Check out the first Carnival of Entrepreneurs hosted at Startup Spark.

I received a ton of great submissions in a wide range of topics. I may have gone a bit overboard with my summaries of each post, but I’m really hoping to help people find something worthwhile; not just be a link farm. So if you’re looking for a bit of inspiration, stop on by! If you need help with your online business dreams, the Carnival of Entrepreneurs has something for you too. And there’s no shortage of straightforward, practical advice as well.

Please visit the Carnival of Entrepreneurs and let me know what you think.

Next week’s Carnival goes live on December 20th, and will be hosted at Startup Spark. (submissions are accepted until December 18th, 2pm EDT.)

Thank you to everyone who participated. If you find something worthwhile in the Carnival please let me know! And please link to it!

The Carnival of Entrepreneurs brings together a collection of some great entrepreneurial resources submitted by other bloggers. It’s a weekly event. For more information on blog carnivals visit the blog carnival site.

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