Spam visualizations by Kim Asendorf. via CreativeApplications

Do You Know What We Are Missing?

Everyday I randomly stumble upon great pieces of information that I just happened to find while looking for something completely different. I try to follow all the main link-sharing sites, but each one holds a bias of what gets bubbled to the top – making some topics highly unrepresented. Many of the things I find can (and should) be on the front page of many link-sharing sites, but it gets unnoticed because the it did not possess the the right type of content, timing, traffic, or luck. To some extent, if the author feels their content is useful and helpful, it is in everyone else’s best interest for the author to promote it. Obviously, “useful” and “helpful” are relative terms and going to such lengths as spamming sites with links is never beneficial, not matter how good the content. Still, I much rather have a few annoyances to get a chance to find some hidden gems than otherwise.

The Bad Apple Spoils the Bunch

There is quite a bit of hostility to self-promotion and it is rightly deserved. The basic premise of people willing to share their own work for others to read/consume seems quite noble. So there has obviously been some pretty ugly abuse going on for the sharing of information to be so frowned upon. What it boils down to is that people somewhere down the line were less interested in sharing their content then they were about getting people to their site. That train of thought usually ends up with one (or more) of the actions below:

1. Promote every post/feature for their site.
2. Do not participate (in a positive way) to any discussions about the page they are promoting.
3. Do not establish at least a minimal relationship with the site(s) they are promoting to.
4. Have no interest in reciprocation or the effects on the site(s) they over-promote on.

We have all seen these sorts of tactics many times in many places. Still, my hope in humanity makes me believe that this is still the minority (albeit a very loud and annoying segment). The portion of people that do decided to participate in these sorts of actions unfortunately ruin it for the rest of the folks on the internet.

How Not to Come Off As a Jerk

All of these little tactics above have given link-sharing a very bad reputation. Because of that, it is in our best interest to go over and above the normal etiquette in order to assure people we are not being malicious. Here are a few little tips I like to follow:

1. Only post in communities where your content will most likely be perceived as useful.
   Obvious, but important – not every online community will care about your genre of writing. Save yourself (and others) some time by posting only to places you are certain will actually care.
2. Do not blindly post links.
   This can really cause you a lot of trouble. Do not just go to sites for the intention of self-promotion and never check in to see how people have responded. For all you know, you could have really annoyed a lot of people, to which it is in your own best interest to try to patch the situation up. Also, some folks may have questions/comments that could create a follow-up discussion.
3. Be honest and up-front about your self-promotion.
   It is really easy to sign up as another individual as drop your own links as a “fan” of the site. First and foremost, it is dishonest and detrimental to the audience. Secondly, you will get caught eventually. It always works that way.
4. Be willing (and prepared) to accept the possible reactions to your promotion.
   As stated earlier, not everyone is going to like self-promoters. Whether it is fair or unfair, it is best to just be ready for trolls to come at you and to not make an ass of yourself when (or if) you respond to them.
5. Be gracious if people/sites do not welcome your links.
   Better to have a few less visitors come to your site than to upset a large portion of an online community…
6. Be judicious in what pages you promote and the frequency in which you do it.
   Believe it or not, not every post we write is worth going door-to-door in order to have people read it. People will understandably get upset if your useless posts are constantly plugging up their source of online news.
7. There’s nothing wrong with posting your own links to Digg, Del.icio.us, etc.
   But there is a lot wrong with trying to game them.
8. Return the favor.
   If you have benefited from promoting yourself, why not take the time to promote someone else that deserves it as well?
9. Know when to quit.
   Whether your post or site just does not cause a stir or you are way ahead of your time, if people are not buying it, perhaps you should stop selling it. Also, once you have gotten a fairly good readership, it may not even be worth the trouble doing it anymore.

If anything, follow some of these rules just for the sake of Karma. All that aside, by all means, please continue to promote yourself if you do create content online – just do it with some common sense and some class. We all may be soon thanking you for doing so.