What Do You Remember After Christmas?

Christmas morning comes, the kids open tons of presents and what then? The excitement is over, the mess is big, and the credit card is maxed out.

What do I remember today of yesterday's holiday? The people. My kids. The realization that my 5-year-old is very nurturing. She was very concerned that her new baby only came with one diaper--not because she wanted more toys, because the baby needed to be cared for.

Like many families of today, we are an Internet family. Much of our time is spent in the same house each on our separate computers, sometimes talking on MSN even though we are in the same home. The key is still to connect with people, especially family.

My oldest son gets this deep down in his soul. His present to me was one of time with him--online. Two years ago he got me hooked on playing an MMORPG (Massively Multi-player Online Role Playing Game). The one he plays is Final Fantasy XI. Now I have my own character again (I had left playing the game to spend more time Internet Marketing).

The two years since I last played has taught me the importance of relationships. One of my favorite marketing slogans is: People Buy People, not Stuff.

How is marketing related to playing an MMORPG? Relationships. In Final Fantasy XI, your character is out in the wilderness fighting monsters. At a certain point, you must band together with other characters (operated by other players around the world) in order to kill the monsters. This requires meeting people and working well in small groups. The connections my son has made over the last few years he has played this game have impressed me. He has gotten some business, yes, but of course that isn't the reason he plays. Still, I see playing this MMORPG will help my Internet Marketing in at least two ways: 1) It will increase my experience building relationships, and 2) It will increase my awareness of the cyber world. We live in a time where a significant percentage of our customer's time is spent online, we need to understand that culture by living it.

One last thing: Playing computer games can drain your time very easily. In fact, the makers of Final Fantasy IX have placed this warning as one enters the game.

I told myself I would not play until I got my blogging done for today. I have several blogs I write in, some I have neglected to the detriment of one of my own goals: to post 4 times per week on each blog. Well, with this motivation I've posted on each one. Now off to fight monsters!

Commenting On Blogs

One of the primary tasks of Internet Marketing is commenting on other people's blogs. Find blogs that match your niche and comment on them regularly. This should be a weekly thing. This is one of those things that is easy to do. The caveat is that it is also easy not to do. Just like posting new blog posts (which I struggle with), commenting on blogs is one of those things that you ought to do regularly, following the philosophy of The Slight Edge: Secret to a Successful Life.

How to Comment on Blogs
When you find a blog post that matches your niche, read it. This may seem obvious, but a common faux pas in blogging is a commenter who obviously has not read the post. Read the post. At the bottom of the post there is usually a link that says how many comments there are or to leave a comment. The etiquette is that your comment must add value to the conversation. You do not want to simply put in a plug for your website. If you are commenting on a blog that allows you to enter your URL along with your name, then your name will become a link to the URL you enter. There is no need to plug your website. Simply write a sincere, valuable comment and let the link do its work.