I've had a series of world travelers visit my blog today.  This one was all the way from Namibia...

Good evening. Make love, not war. Help me! There is an urgent need for sites: Radiologists bachelor degree programs ms. I found only this - bachelor degree Australia. Tips to earn an accredited online bachelor degree. A typical statement by a court is that pencil designers of ordinary skill as of January had a bachelor degree in mechanical engineering and years of work experience designing pencils. With respect :confused:, Cadence from Namibia. 

*Link underlined and disabled

These anonymous commentators look for old posts and leave their spam link hoping that you won't notice and they can trade off your traffic.  After all, that's probably how they found you in the first place. Unattended blogs and social media sites are a magnet for spammers!

Do You Know Who's Paying a Social Call on Your Site Today?

Recently, social media sites like Twitter and Facebook and even Active Rain have faced an increased onslaught of Spam from nefarious individuals and organizations using abbreviated URL's to get you to click on dubious links.  There has also been an increase in pornographic sites which view this as a new potential source of traffic for their trade.

So, it's becoming increasingly important to Pay Attention!  Here are a few ideas which may be useful.

1.  Recognize that it's your job to maintain Control. 

One of the more daunting aspects of setting up profiles everywhere online, is there may be a tendency to forget just where you left parts of yourself.  This is not wise.  It's important to check up on your profiles from time to time OR if they no longer serve any useful purpose...DELETE them.  Use the Preference and Settings Tools on the sites which you choose to continue to set up appropriate notifications and to monitor who has access to you.

2.  Look before you Click.

Don't just automatically accept everyone.  Make a habit of doing some form of preliminary investigation...take a look at their website, their comment stream etc.  Keep in mind that giving access is not just a click, it's an invitation to co-mingle data, ideas and contacts.  It's a mistake to think that access has no value...it does and should be treated accordingly.

3.  Organize your Virtual Bookshelf...

As your associations increase, the potential for expanding your relationships grows.  This can be a very good thing. But, it can also leave you somewhat fragmented as you wonder WHO all these people are who you are 'connected' to.  One of the best ways to handle this is to Organize your contacts.

For instance, on Facebook, this can be done very easily by simply setting up 'List Groups' on your home page.  This allow you to categorize HOW you are connected to different individuals.  Doing this on a regular basis when you add contacts/friends/tweeps will greatly aid in avoiding the tendency to simply collect names on your account and compel you to evaluate who this individual is and how you desire to relate to them.  

It also provides a very easy way to keep up with people who form different aspects of your life.  For instance, I can easily find out what my school buddies are up to by clicking on their list.  Using Facebook in this way has been a wonderful aid in deepening friendships.

And Why is this Important?

And...in the final analysis, this is ultimately where social media will serve it's highest potential.  It will not be in the race to advertise that you got 400 followers today or to send out a barrage of self serving messages to promote yourself.  Rather, the real gold mine is the opportunity to share and connect in ways that increase and create value in new and meaningful ways.  After all the chaff and fluff are blown away, this is the true grit that will remain and endure.

Copyright 2009  Audu Real Estate  All Rights Reserved.