What do you usually look for before you join a social network? How about a directory? What are your requirements before you get your blog or website listed on it?Probably for a social network, you would want it interactive. You want to meet interesting people. Perhaps you also want a lively discussion of things you want to learn. Or you just want to promote your blog to the members, get constructive criticisms, get appreciated and grow from these feedbacks. In short, you want to join a community that you can rely on.

But joining communities of bloggers is not enough. You need more. As I’ve said in my previous post on the 7 Proven Ways To Build Traffic to Your Blog Part - I, you need to submit your blog or website to directories. Here’s a list of Directories you can submit your blog for free.I’m sure you also have a list of requirements that a directory should have before you get your blog or website listed on it. Let me see, you want a directory with a high Page Rank so that you will get higher ranking from the search engines. You also want a directory that has established itself and has been proven reliable. Sometimes it’s really a waste of time to join “now you see it, now you don’t” directories so you want to save time, energy and resources. What’s more, you want a directory that can deliver traffic to your site or blog and a directory that is well-organized. Most importantly, you want submission and approval to be quick, easy and conveniet and you want it FREE!

That’s a lot of requirements but it’s okay to be demanding and critical. It’s actually an indication that you value your blog. In fact, I have the same requirements. And so far, it has worked for my advantage.

The GOOD NEWS is, there is a website that meets all your requirements and it’s a social network and a directory in ONE. Have you ever heard of BLOGCATALOG? If you’re a member… Congratulations! With the numerous reviews of Blogcatalog, I’m not surprised if you’ve already heard of it. What will surprise me is that you’re NOT yet a member after all that you’ve heard about Blogcatalog. Well, I’ll understand if you’ve read what Rose DesRochers have to say about Blogcatalog but if I were you, I’d think twice before I believe her. Recently, she’s been suspended from Blogcatalog because of her rude behavior towards the Blogcatalog members and her ungrateful attitude towards the community as a whole. She’s now on a crusade to spread negative publicity for BC. (e.g. that Blogcatalog is a Copycat of Mybloglog, that BC treated her unfairly etc.) Let me tell you this once and for all… Blogcatalog is DIFFERENT from Mybloglog! Andy Beard, who I think is a credible source of reviews, posted an objective assessment of Blogcatalog and Mybloglog. Go ahead and read what he has to say.

Meanwhile, I also came up with my own list of why Blogcatalog is different. I will present the difference in a rather different manner from what Andy has done to create a more unique perspective of the issue. So here it goes…

What makes BLOGCATALOG different?

The Members: One of the reasons why Blogcatalog is different from other social networks and directories is because of its cool members. The diverse people who make up the Blogcatalog community makes it a unique place to be.

Kingtang: One of the active members who promised to visit and leave comment to all the members who join his discussion. The result was overwhelming. His discussion made it to the top list of discussions and more than 150 members joined.

Dharmagypsy7: Susie aka Dharmagypsy 7 is another active member of the Blogcatalog Community who generously shared her Pownes invitation to the first 11 members who request for it. She recently learned that she’s pregnant and the Blogcatalog community is excited to hear about her experiences. She’ll be putting up a new blog where she’ll blog about her experiences on the process. It will be created anytime soon.

OneMansGoal: If you wonder what his goals are, it’s to become a full time blogger with a monthly revenue of $3,500 or more. He plans to achieve these goals in 365 days. He is right now promoting his blog and the Blogcatalog members are willingly giving a hand.

When you join Blogcatalog, you will be exposed to a group of intelligent, hilarious, kind, frank, and slightly obnoxious people. Plus the fun and challenge never stops.

The Administrators: Frankly speaking, you’ll not know who are the administrators especially when you are new to the Community. This is because all of them identify themselves to the community. They participate in the discussions, they visit your blogs, leave comments, provides you with useful feedback and always try their best to be of help to everyone.

SiteProPlus: Tony (real name) is one of the administrators of Blogcatalog. At first, I didn’t know that he’s one of the administrators because I see him participate in the discussions by exchanging ideas to the members. You rarely see administrators do this. But at BC, it’s customary.

TheGoodKnife: Daniel (real name) is the first member of the Administration who visited my blog and appreciated my work. He is the guy I ask when I have problems with my account although you can always ask all the admin members for assistance.

AngelaDaVinci: Angelica (real name) is another friendly member of the admin. She’s the mother of BC. She goes around and make sure that people behave well. She also actively joins discussion and exchange ideas with Blogcatalog members.

Nine: When I was in-trouble with one of the threads I’ve created, I’ve approached Nine and requested him to delete it. Shortly after I’ve sent my message, he replied.

I’m still relatively new to Blogcatalog and I’m sure that I haven’t met all the adminstrators. Give me 2 weeks.

The Fun and The Activities: Yes, Blogcatalog is not simply a great directory to get your blog listed or a social network to meet friends, fans and critics but it’s a wonderful place for FUN and ACTIVITIES.

Blogging for a Cause: One of the most successful activities that Blogcatalog has organized is the BlogCatalog Community Organ Donor Awareness Campaign. In this activity, members were invited to unite and blog about Organ Donation with the objective of creating awareness about the Organ scarcity problem and how all of us can help. The effect of the campaign was felt over the Blogosphere. Here’s a link to the report from SiteProPlus of what the community has achieved.

Biggest Idea Challenge: Where can you find a social network that will pay you for giving an idea that will benefit you and the community once it’s implemented? Only here at Blogcatalog. The administrators put up an activity where all members are welcome to join. The challenge? Develop, create and submit an idea/innovation plan that when implemented will make BlogCatalog the most extraordinary Blogger Social Community on the internet. First prize is US$2,500 and the second prize is US$500. So far, a large number of the members including myself has pledged to join. Submission of ideas will be closed on August 31st, 2007 (11:59pm EST).

Supports Good Causes: Blogcatalog extends help to cause oriented activities. Recently, Blogcatalog community was able to help 844 students and supported 2,298 hours of instruction and homework. Here’s the link to the discussion created by SiteProPlus for more details.

These are but a few of the Activities you can expect when you join Blogcatalog. In my previous article, I have written about Traffic Referrals from Blogcatalog which is another reason why joining the community is worth your time and GUARANTEED to bring positive result to your blog, blogging and ‘bloggership’.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. Your comments are appreciated. After leaving your comment, make sure to drop by Blogcatalog and join us. It would be great to have you there. See you!

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