Choosing to Schmooze, nothing to lose

A few months back I learned about a social networking service for bloggers called MyBlogLog. It's a place for folks with blogs to join together and create communities. Sometimes the communities organize around shared experience and like minds, but they can also be places of unity in diversity, where we learn and grow by exposing ourselves to varied perspectives.

The connections made through MyBlogLog are for the most part virtual, but the bonds can still be very strong. In my short time with the service, I've formed some friendships that I know will last, and I hope to enter into others. Jeane, nom de plume the poetress, from Binding Ink is one of the special people I've met online, and she's graciously bestowed upon my little website a Power of Schmooze award, which as far as I can tell originated from Mike's Ordinary Folk blog.

In a sense, Schmoozing is one of the most critical skills in the Web 2.0 world of social networking. All good networkers need to go on the charm offensive to build wider groupings of contacts and more powerfully connected communities. That can mean something as simple as thanking chance visitors for taking the time to read your posts, or it can be a more complex and rewarding conversation with your fellow writers.

Here are my list of bloggers, who have represented the best aspects of Schmoozing. As far as I can tell they have yet to be tagged, but even if they were it'll just mean an additional link of recognition for them, and another good piece of Schmoozing on my part.

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• Alex of A Blog That Lies was one of my earliest contacts at MyBlogLog and we're regular commenters on each other's sites. He is quick to thank and seek feedback from visitors, and his site has a very interesting concept: fictionalizing news stories.


• Jennifer, aka truthdancer, of Goodness Graciousness just got an award from me, but I'm tagging her again. She is one of the most positive people you'll ever come to know and her site will definitely give you a new more uplifting outlook.


• SpacedGirlHero of Stuperhero Extraordinaire is one of my newer contacts, but she has been very generous in leaving complimentary comments on my blog. She is equally open and welcoming on her own site, and I hope you'll check it out.


• David of Very Short Novels is very quick to notice and acknowledge visits to his wonderful short-fiction site. He limits himself to 299 words in crafting his posts, but you'll be surprised at how much he can express in that small space.


• Amy of Wamylove music video blog is also someone I've traded comments with from early on in this networking experiment. Her site is great if you like music, as she provides wonderful background and video clips of some interesting bands.