Social networking sites?

[leeuh]

I know that there are a ton of social networking sites for bloggers. Do you use one of them that you've had a lot of luck with? Do you have a blog on one of the social sites, that you use for the sole purpose to promote your 'real' blog? If you have, what kind of success have you had with that, and which site was it on? (if you don't mind sharing the information that is)

[Kevin]

Social networking is something I know I must do more often but I find it difficult to find the time. I'd much rather spend my time researching a topic or writing a post however I am aware of the traffic benefits of using social media so I need to try and use it more

[Dartz]

Yeah, I've got one on NetToMe, I went there cause I was sick to death of the idiots on Myspace, activity is low and quiet, but at least I've not got people using individual letters of the alphabet as words.

[mollyL]

Dartz, that drives me mad! It is sometimes impossible to fathom what a poster or blogger is trying to say, then when you ask them to clarify or tell them you don't get their own personal vocabulary, they get insulted.

[adzeds]

I need to use these more effectively....

I might have to perform some experiments in this field.

[KatyInLasVegas]

Making a distinction between social networking and social bookmarking, I have to say that I don't using the networking sites very often. They're time consuming and too groupie-ish. I find it hard to get into a groove of being in the right place to attract any attention for myself. And I'm so over MySpace and the 13 yr olds that frequent it (like my niece) really, "wuzz up" comments are more than I can handle.

[wahmsuzanne]

I have used MySpace successfully for two of my websites (one is for WAHMs work-at-home moms and the other for freelance writers) but I'm very careful about who I approve as friends.

For the WAHM space (http://www.myspace.com/wahm2wahm) I only add other work at home moms or dads which is easy to figure out with a quick glance of their profile and I'm up to just under 800 friends. I have gotten a ton of new business this way.

I make pretty good use of the blog on there and of the bulletin feature. I am just getting my new blog set up and as soon as I'm ready to really start promoting it I will use MySpace, FaceBook, ShoutLife, CafeMom, Prosperity Cast, MLM World, and a few others to heavily promote my blog.

I hope to see how others are using these sites too. *SmiLes* Suzanne

[PPPAKE]

Does anyone ever try blog communities? Message boards and forums that are specifically designed for bloggers. This Blogging Tips forum is a great place, and it looks like there is some great discussion going on.

I also really like BlogCatalog's discussion boards. They're grown immensely over the past year, and there are some great groups available for targeted networking.

Just a couple of thoughts....

[discrat]

Yeah I use Squdoo Lense to get valuable Backlinks to my main Blog.

I dont really care much about the actual Traffic from Squidoo per se but utilize it for SEO purposes !! Thats my advise

[mintblogger]

I'm addicted to Twitter, and found it very useful in exchanging ideas, networking and disseminating my blog's content.

[sydneymatt]

Using social bookmarking sites is something I've been meaning to try for ages. I have heard they pull in a lot of traffic. But like other bloggers in this thread I'm too busy writing and reading.

Also, I keep reading one major criticism of sites like Digg: If you get listed on the front page you get squillions of hits, but then they all disappear quickly as they scramble for the next "dugg" site.

It's kind of like "rent-a-crowd". They'll show up, but only once.

I think the slow slog of link-building and writing good content is probably a better use of time in the long run.

[DigiKnow101]

im also on squidoo