So I'm sure many of you read the title and thought, "Where is Derrick going to go with this one?"

Okay, I agree it sounds corny, but it is amazing how your mind frames things early on a cold, wet Midwest winter morning walking to the train station (remember, a perfect morning involves staying in my sweats, not leaving the house, working on the computer).

Now granted, I do hope most of us are potty trained better, have a more permanent residence and a sharper mind when it comes to avoiding traffic, but stay with me and read on.

6. Helpful. Fellow worldwide bloggers I have been privileged to "meet" are some of the most amazing people I have ever had any fellowship with.

Although most bloggers are willing to lend a hand with information or a project, if they have the time, don't forget that they might have to refuse or even not reply because of time constraints, heavy workloads, set principles, or a simple distaste with your lack of proper etiquette.



You know what I am saying, don't get so consumed with your own needs that you behave or come across disrespectfully to your fellow bloggers. Even pigeons do get ruffled and fly away.

Let me know what you think!

Derrick Sorles

For even more insights check out Jay T.'s bloggershelpingbloggers or the bloggershelpingbloggersalliance. I also really like bloggerforum and bloggeretiquette.

What we learned at the SOBCon07 Conference in Chicago: Were Not Bloggers, Were Pizza Makers!
(Original Publish Date 5/16/07)  

What didn't we learn? GOSH, we came back with so much knowledge, so many notes and so many new friends. We shared new tools we discovered like VIDEO STICKY and THE Z LIST and THE GOOD BLOGS, as well as interesting blogs and bloggers we spent time with like Phil Gerbyshak of Make It Great, Terry Starbuckers Ramblings and Connie Reece and her wild Blogabillies - Scribblin stories and Livin Large!

We will be talking about ALL of the blogs and bloggers we got to spend time with, in the coming months. Hats off to Jason Alba who blogged the ENTIRE EVENT!

A discussion was held around the word blogger and the fact that it can have a negative meaning to some people. I think of a blogger as someone who decides to launch a weblog, and its true, ANYONE can do that, maybe we do need to separate ourselves somehow. Are they successful? Do they tire out? Is their blog interesting? Are they someone who blogs with no real direction or mission or passion about what they are doing?  Are they blogging in a vacuum?

As a blog starts to take shape, you begin to have a good idea about what you can offer the blogosphere. Is this something you can stick with, is it sticky and are you passionate about it? Can you keep things interesting and attract readers for months to come.

Do you have a desire to grow your blog, share your blog, connect with others and learn?  At SOBCon07, David Armano suggested perhaps PERSONAL PUBLISHER or even ONLINE PRODUCER is a better, more fitting term for us all in the blogosphere as opposed to bloggers.

As a personal publisher or online producer, we treat our blogs with respect and publish online newsletters and magazines and that is the message we need to communicate to people who have negative connatations to the word blogger or may have no clue to what the term blogger may really mean.
 
What we have found is most bloggers (online publishers and producers) handle all their blogs (call them what you need to as to make people want to visit and revisit) with extreme care and commitment.

We put a lot of time, energy, and thought into every single post and its overall look, taste and feel ~ just like one would with pizza. It's a business. It's a resume. It's about relationships. It's about relavance to one's day-to-day.  It's actually a lot like a pizza when you think about it! We could be compared to chef's of many sorts as pizza makers with many different ideas of the ideal pizza pie in mind!

  

Think about the streets of New York City for example. Pizza by the slice is everywhere! But who has the best pizza in New York City???  Ask 10 New Yorkers, you'll probably get 10 different answers. It's all good, it's a subjective question.

Some people like it with a lot of cheese. Some like more sauce. Some like sweet sauce, some like a more salty sauce, some like anchovies, some like green peppers, some black olives and extra cheese...  you get the idea.

But the point is, every pizza maker tries to deliver the "best" pizza possible. They research their ingredients and experiment until they feel they have the right crust/topping combination.

The point is as a producer, and as a personal-online publisher, we try to create something special people will like as well. A lot of love, energy, sweat and tears go into a serious blog and its content. That's just what it takes to make a great pizza pie as well!

We are so thankful and glad we attended the event and can't wait till next year (which SOBCon08 was fantastic - now looking forward to SOBCon09 which kicks off Friday, May 1, 2009 ~ stay tuned!).

But most of all, we are thankful for destiny bringing us together with Liz Strauss of Successful and Outstanding Blogs, for without meeting her, our life of personal publishing/pizza-making would not be going down this road it's currently on now.

THANK YOU Liz ~ BIG HUGS!
Michael and Derrick