Oct 24
So you’ve started your blog and you’ve read the advice of the pros. Do you believe that by following the advice of big money making blogs, you will be rich? Most people who follow the advice of professionals will be right where they want you to be, beneath them. Niche is pronounced “nitch” in case you didn’t know. I used to think it rhymed with quiche…LOL!
While personal and other types of blogs may out number money oriented blogs, they currently have no chance of getting things done. What kinds of things? Ideas like fighting hunger, racism, poverty and promoting world peace are but a few.
Many of us would like to think that because of our numbers, we can have a chance of achieving these goals by standing together. If 50, 000 bloggers write posts about feeding starving babies, will it help? The answer is no. It’s not enough. There are many reasons why it won’t do much and I hope this article will help you understand why.
The average money blogger runs their blog much smarter than most personal bloggers. Their blogs are beautifully optimized for search engines, they use clean templates, use wise strategies and apply seo thoeries. The average blogger doesn’t know what any of this is!
Stand Out With Stumble Upon
Here’s a short and sweet instruction guide for those of you new to stumbling. If you don’t use stumble, it’s time to join. Hey, you could even experiment on this post! 
I was looking at my friend Polli from Polliwog’s Pond‘s MyBlogLog profile and noticed she had her Stumble Upon page listed as a blog. I’ve seen several people do this and thought it’s time I listed mine too.
I decided since this blog deals with blogging ethics, being nice and polite are part of ethics in my world! Many people use stumble but don’t use it correctly. What I mean by correctly, is doing the little extra things with stumble that make you stand out.
Add Your Stumble Upon Blog Anywhere You Can
The great thing about your Stumble feeds is that you are promoting the people you stumble as well as yourself. You have two feeds as a Stumble Upon user:
Add your stumble blog to MyBlogLog to get started. These two feed addresses are the ones you need to enter when editing your stumble blog. Your Main Stumble Upon URL can be either of these two. I used the top one as my primary.
Check it out on MyBlogLog: Revellian’s StumbleUpon Blog
Stumble Upon Coolness
There are tons of great posts about using stumble, but this one is specifically for my readers! To be extra nice using stumble, here are some things beginners should be aware of. Here’s a section of the Stumble Upon tool bar. IE users can download it directly from stumbleupon.com. Firefox users can use the add extension feature available in their addons menu.
You can stumble someone’s home page and their stumble user page. It’s like saying not only is their site cool, but they are a great stumbler as well!
When you are looking at someones site, you click the thumbs up button. If the page hasn’t been stumbled previously, you will be prompted to write a short review (please tag it correctly). If it has been stumbled already, it will redirect you to another random page.
What I like to do is after I give a thumbs up on a previously stumbled page, I go back and write a review anyway. See that white bubble on the far right of the tool bar in my example? Click it to write a review.
These are two separate things. It’s nice to go back after giving thumbs up and write a review in addition! Most folks won’t do this. Stumblers who do this are extra cool.
You should stumble the sites and stumblers you like! When you run across a cool post, stumble and review it! Just make sure you are on the article’s permalink url. Just click the post title to get to it.
Stumbling is powerful and fun. It’s a great way to share with folks what you like and who you like. It’s great for traffic and I personally prefer it over Digg any day.
To get an idea of just how powerful stumbling can be, read Mike’s post: (Ordinary Folk) The Stumbleupon stampede – one amazing night of traffic
If you want to get really technical, read Stumbleupon mathematics for stumblers by Tim Nash.
[Tags]blogging, blogging tips, blogging ethics, Stumble Upon, stumbleupon, Bobby Revell, Revellian[/Tags]
The Truth
Wouldn’t it be great if the top bloggers were all the types of people that helped people, fed hungry children and represented things deserving of respect? Unfortunately they are not. It seems that making money is all that matters to 95% of them. Blogging is a powerful tool and it is sad to see those in charge take advantage of the most reliable marketing strategy known. That is greed.
In order for those in blogging who want to benefit humanity to ACTUALLY GET IT DONE, you need to listen to what I am saying. Sure you can write all day, but without stripping power away from those money hungry people who run the blogosphere, it cannot happen. Besides, if a rich blogger gives money to help people, it is just to improve public relations and image.
What You Can Do To Change The Power Balance
Blogging is very unique and Different from anything else. It’s not just about writing, making money, making friends, building linkage or gaining popularity.
Lets get into something that may upset you as a blogger. This is about the reality of how things really work. Google is the biggest and most powerful search engine. Google is also the most unethical corporation in the world today. Do you disagree? Google tells us that to be relevant as a blogger, it is not recommended to link to low ranking blogs.
They want you to link to high ranking blogs only. That should clear things up for you. If it doesn’t, perhaps you are a greedy, self righteous sheep like most of the other money bloggers who want to be just like the ones on top who help perpetuate this cycle.
First and foremost, the number one thing you can do is never link to the super high ranked blogs. Don’t advertise on them and never respond to their silver tongued tricks to lure you in. Stick to where the real power is, the mass public of people who you can be friends with. If we do that, we will take the power and put it to much more important uses than making money for our own vanity and greed.
Ask Yourself What Is Important
I want all of you to answer my questions here. Let me know how you feel.
Here’s the situation. You have just gained a page rank of 5. All of a sudden, a rich A-list blogger starts paying attention to you. They aren’t your friend and you know it. They want to be your friend and promote you. Now you have the chance to make some real money. We will call this blogger, Blogger-X.
Blogger-X is rich and powerful with a sports car header on his blog. He now likes you and here’s your big chance. WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Please let me know what you would do.
To make money, a lot of bloggers pay for services and advisers. You adviser tells you that by deleting all outgoing links on your blogroll and all links to low ranked blogs, you can triple your money making chances. WOULD YOU DO IT?
What I Would Do
I would completely ignore Blogger-X. I wouldn’t say thank you because I am not his friend. I will not be someone’s friend for money. If I received an incoming link from Blogger-X, I would redirect it away from my blog and back at him. If Blogger-X took the time to really get to know me (through several months), then maybe I could start believing that he was more than just a greedy blogging “professional“.
On the 2nd question, I would tell my adviser I was in no way interested. It’s as simple as that. Blogger-X is no more important than you or I. However, when facing a shot at making a lot of money, most of us will sell out. Would you sell out? How much do you want to benefit humanity? This article will be continued in part 2.
Read this related post from Nafasg entitled: Technology Brings People Together
Sep 25
Who Are You?
Are you a leader or a follower? Are you a little of both? Do you project a fabricated image to psychologically manipulate the masses into believing your site is professional? Do you accept yourself for the person you really are, letting it shine through in every post? To have great blog in my humble opinion, it must be honest and full of heart!
We live in a world of images, reputations, money and lack thereof. All of these things are heavily reflected in the blogosphere and our daily lives. My good friend Karen from the philosophical blog Waterlearner asked me if I would write a post on self acceptance. Read the post that inpired me, Spiritual Facial. My good friends at NAFASG also helped inspire this article. Read their fascinating post, Don’t Just Watch, Observe! (make sure you watch the incredible video, you have to see this!) It’s been a while since I delved into the depths of the self and I couldn’t tell Karen no!
I will start by using this concept as it applies to blogging and how I perceive it from a multi-faceted detached state of consciousness. To see things for what they really are is one central idea in the structure of my blog. I use what I think of as motivic blogging improvisations. This is based on my life long studies of Jazz musical theory, Taoism and martial art philosophies.
When most of us start blogging, often it is a personal blog. That’s how I started. Other people have a reason for starting a blog like for instance, to make money or support a business. I have noticed some interesting things about the A-list blogs that most have in common. Let’s take a look at a basic time line in the life of a blogger. We’ll call him Blogger-X. This is a specific model to show you my point. It may or may not apply to you, but within, there is a lesson for us all. I am playing a bit of devil’s advocate to make my point, so don’t take it personally if you think of yourself!
The Tale of Blogger-X
Blogger-X starts out writing about his life and and his job. Then he meets some blogging friends. He participates in his first blogging meme and is no longer a web virgin. He gets tagged and re-tagged and triple tags all his buddies having all kinds of fun. He then gets a blogging award and starts thinking about making money on line.
Now that his on line cherry has been popped, he realizes through studying how the A-listers became successful, he wants to be one himself. He notices that A-listers don’t do memes or have friends like the rest of the bloggers.
He stops doing all memes, replaces his blogroll with one that only points to the big blogs, and ignores all the incoming links that don’t have page rank. He no longer cares about all those great friends he made because he is so much more important now. He fears that his newly manufactured and heartlessly fabricated reputation could lose it’s edge if people see a silly meme on his site. He is now a professional blogger who wants money and his blog is a business.
He no longer gives out links or cares about anyone unless they have a pagerank of 5 or better. If you want a link, he will sell you one. The public masses are now his sheep-like customers. Every post he writes is maximized for his niche as he rises higher in popularity . Tons of people trackback and link to every post he writes so that they too can be just like Blogger-X. And so on and so on.
His reputation and fabricated image are an illusion, using very similar mass-mind control and mass-hypnosis techniques that Adolf Hitler and Napoleon Bonaparte used. Yes indeed, he now makes a truckload of cash and works it hard, optimizing for every cent he can milk from whoever! Things are often not what they appear to be in the blogosphere! Watch Nafa’s video to see some real illusion.
I say phooey on you Blogger-X. I will never stop doing memes and I most certainly will NEVER remove my friends from my blogroll. Can you make money and have friends at the same time? Of course you can. One thing I truly cannot stand is having an A-list blogger (or someone who thinks they are) not reply to my comments. If I take 15 minutes to write a very meaningful comment and you snub me by replying only to the other high ranked commentators on your post, I will never read your blog again. Hire someone to answer the damn reply! There’s an image for you to fabricate! Create the illusion that you care! Of course we will all see through that and you’ll lose all readers who aren’t your sheep!
Honest Blogging Begins With Self-Acceptance
I accept all people from all races and religions and when I make a friend, I keep that friend! I met 2 new bloggers who happen to be incredibly high-ranked who impressed me by taking the time to give me attention and call me by name! Hey, that is what good blogging is all about! These 2 incredible bloggers are: Garry Conn and Tim Nash. Both of these guys are in my opinion, true experts and cool guys. I just met them both and will be studying their blogs. Garry is a master who has so many blogs it will make your head spin. Tim is just plain brilliant.
I want to thank Mark from MeAndMyDrum for introducing me to Garry (please go checkout Marks new header and logo, talk about sweet! Mark has a fantastic blog and has me hooked with his most refreshing approach!). I met Tim because I kept seeing his face in my MyBlogLog widget and wanted to see who he was! I was thinking, “Wow, Tim Nash reads my blog! How cool is that?”
A side note: Have you seen Paula, from Polliwog’s Pond, new look? (she is now an incredible redhead, oh baby!) She looks so beautiful, I just had to give a shout-out to her! I was floored when I saw her new avatar on mybloglog. I haven’t done my long overdue awards post Paula, but I thank you for the award! It’s coming and all of you who have given me an award, I have not forgotten!)
IMPORTANT UPDATE: Garry Conn has written something about me that is one of the most awesome things anyone has said about me. While most bloggers out to make (we all need money) completely ignore me and NEVER take the time to pay any attention, Garry has been given the Revellian dot com seal of approval for fantastic business integrity and blogging ethics! Read the great post he has written here: The Power of One Blog Reader. Thank you Garry Conn for being a class act and I look forward to a lasting friendship filled with happiness and success!
Sep 10
Do you blog with an ego? Do you think of other human beings as being less or more important than you? Would you like to gain website popularity while retaining blogging ethics and personal integrity? Blogging integrity and ego are important concepts to me. I have very strong views on the concept of the ego and I want to share it with my beloved readers.
I am fortunate to have studied martial arts with some incredible teachers throughout my life and I have a very “samurai” view of ego. Basically, I had the ego beaten out of me. That is something I will always be thankful for. In my humble opinion, there is no place for ego in blogging, at least not in my blog. To have a powerful sense of integrity burned into the heart of every word you write, the ego must be destroyed. It must be eliminated, crushed with a violent killing blow.
In a real martial art (meaning an art for self-preservation in which the only possible outcome is life or death) the first step to learning anything is to get rid of your ego. It clouds the clarity of truth in combat and most certainly in everyday life.
There is an extremely fine line between being confident and being egotistical. It takes a lot of experience and wisdom to know the difference between the two. I remember when I received my first black belt from Dr.Donald Green, my psychology teacher in junior college. The one thing anyone who has ever received ranking from this incredible teacher was without, was ego. He was so good, he could just hold his arm out and somehow, you would punch his fist with your face! He did this while looking in the opposite direction as if by accident. At the time, he had a phD in both psychology and sociology and taught me the value of being a compassionate person above all other ideals in the martial arts.
You cannot have a sense of true integrity if you have an ego, and who wants to read a blog with a condescending, egotistical attitude? I’ve learned a lot this week about myself and the way I see integrity in blogging. This is just a little food for thought and I’d like each of you to think about the integrity in the blog you write. Let me know what you think about this very important and sometimes sensitive subject. You, my readers, are the reason I blog. As always, if you leave a comment, I will answer every single one of them!
I give so many links out to my female readers (hi ladies, I love you all), I want to make light of a male blogger who captures the essence of what I’m talking about perfectly.
My friend Seiche wrote a beautiful piece entitled Natural Sense of Wonder about his daughter. This was one of the most beautiful posts I have ever read. If you are familiar with Seiche, you know he is a martial artist and writes a lot about Brazilian Jiu- Jitsu. To see someone who is an obviously hardened warrior, write such a tender piece about his daughter, is just beautiful. Do yourself a big favor and go read this post!
I’ll have some special links for lots of folks coming up very soon, so stay tuned!
You are currently browsing the archives for the blogging ethics category.
Get your Badge!
revellian’s reviews and blog
Blogging For Humanity: Part II
Oct 3
Posted by Bobby Revell in blogging ethics, thought
Thanks To All
First I want to thank all of you who left a comment here. Some were short and sweet, some were long. All of them were good. I was cursed at by one mysterious Mr. Schlomo who hid his address. Mr. Schlomo, you failed to realize that you left plenty of tracks for me to know exactly who you are. I was very surprised to uncover your identity.
All Bloggers Have A Purpose
Some of you have the misconception that I don’t like A-list bloggers and nothing could be further from the truth. We are all people and we all, regardless of what some of us think, have feelings. If an A-list blog makes $10,000 per month it doesn’t mean that person is no good.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: blogging, commentators