I’ll never forget the first time I spoke with award-winning chef Clive Berkman. I called to interview him about an online contest he is hosting for his upcoming book: “Cooking With Clive, Creating ‘Empty Bottle Moments’ With Those You Love.” It was a memorable call because he thought I was someone else.

“Is this you again? What do you want? I already told you … that’s way too much!” he yelled, including a few choice words I won’t mention in this post. “So if you think I’m going to pay that for a TV then you’re …”

“Um, Rich Becker with Copywrite, Ink., calling from Las Vegas.”

“What? Who?”

“Rich Becker … your brother introduced us by e-mail.”

“Oh!” he laughed. “I am sorry! I thought you were someone else.”

“As long as it wasn’t because your brother introduced us,” I mused.

Of course, when Berkman talks about empty bottle moments in a broader context, he doesn’t mean mistaken identities as much as children’s birthdays, engagements, graduations, and other treasured celebrations that define our lives. We savor the moments much like we would a shared bottle of wine, he explains, and then the empty bottle represents the memory of the occasions and with whom we shared them.

Cooking too, he says, is much like life. We’re all in the kitchen with successes and spills, glorious celebrations and the occasionally burnt meal. The empty bottles that remain at then end of the day are much like the reminders of every tender moment and unnerving chaos — a hand-painted bottle of Champagne here and a small bottle of Tabasco with a cracked top there.

The empty bottle metaphor is one of several reasons Berkman’s cookbook stands out from the rest. While you’ll find dozens of mouth-watering recipes such as Kathleen’s Pralines and a Wild Mushroom Ragout in Flaky Pastry, Berkman complements his creations with empty bottle moments from his20experiences cooking for presidents and celebrities at Charley’s 517 and later Clive’s in Houston.

The stories tucked inside are similar to his recipes: they’re quietly unpretentious while illustrating a real zest for life. And his various book promotions are handled much the same way.

In April, Berkman launched an online contest with the winner receiving a dinner for 20 people. In May, he started a series of one-minute cooking vignettes on YouTube. In June, he offered to sign his book for anyone who preorders a copy. And just recently, he offered empty bottle cooking classes at the Texas Institute of Photography. There’s more in the works too. Berkman has considered teaming up with a company like Williams-Sonoma or another retailer to host a kitchen remodel and has several appearances scheduled well in advance of the book’s release.

Is there a method or is it all marketing? Much like everything else he does, it’s not all marketing. Berkman says he enjoys bringing people together and providing the opportunity to share an experience.

“I have a philosophy about cooking, about people, and about life from my time as a restaurant manager and chef,” says Berkman. “Most cookbooks cover the recipes, but there are other ingredients that make them richer and more delicious … like the ribeyes I prepared for Van Halen or the election dinner for President Bush. What good is a great meal without knowing the people behind it or those who will enjoy it?”
In most cases, Berkman says, he prepared the meals based on the freshest ingredients available and the people he was serving. In fact, he intends to do the same for whomever wins the catered dinner for 20 guests.

As he told me in April, he can work with them to make a menu with local products like lobsters in Maine for sake curry soup or lamb in Colorado with rosemary and corn polenta. No matter who wins, you can expect the event will be an empty bot tle moment, which would not be all that different from the empty bottle moments bloggers tend to write about every day.

In fact, Antony Berkman, president of BlogCatalog, immediately asked me that question shortly after reading the post about his brother’s online contest. He called me from Cabo San Lucas to ask.

“Why don’t we ask all bloggers to consider writing about one of their favorite empty bottle moments?” he asked. “I’m serious. It would make a great post for them to consider.”

It might even make a great meme. Share one memorable empty bottle moment and then ask five friends to do the same, with a nod to the chef who coined the phrase. You never know. Sometimes it’s the personal stories from bloggers that help them stand out, anything and everything from how they met a fellow blogger to a brief instant of mistaken identity that will always decorate my friendship with the chef.

Also, for everyone interested, Berkman recently added several sneak peek pages highlighted on his Web site. The book, which will be pu blished in August, features 256 pages with 80 full-color photos. It retails for $30.

Richard Becker, is an accredited business communicator and president of Copywrite, Ink., a strategic communication and writing services firm with experience on more than 1,000 accounts. His blog Copywrite, Inc. is based upon his observations on communication and marketing from the president of a leading commercial writing services company.

Many BlogCatalog members have asked us for a place on BlogCatalog to talk politics and connect with with other bloggers over political discussions. Today, we are excited to announce the launch of the BlogCatalog Political Channel located at http://www.blogcatalog.com/politics. The BlogCatalog Political Channel is a place where bloggers can have their political voices heard, engage in political debate, increase their blog’s exposure and participate in a lively discussion about the US election or any other political topic of interest.

An Exclusive Political Discussion Area

Just like the BlogCatalog main discussions, the Political Discussions are designed to be a place where conversation can flow freely and bloggers can engage one another in political discussion.

Join in on the political discussion at http://www.blogcatalog.com/politics/discuss

Political Posts Highlighted

We know that many of your posts don’t get the exposure they deserve. The political channel is designed to highlight your latest political posts and make it really easy for anyone to browse and search all political posts.

To view some of the latest political posts visit http://www.blogcatalog.com/politics/posts

Political Search

Do you really want to know what bloggers are talking about? BlogCatalog’s Political Social Search results give you a insider’s view into what BlogCatalog bloggers are saying, about the election and other hot political topics, across a large number of social networks including on twitter, digg and stumbleupon, their blogs and the BlogCatalog discussions.

For some fascinating political insights do a search http://www.blogcatalog.com/politics/search

Political Groups

We’ve made it even easier than before to join or create a political group. Political groups are highly focused, mini-discussion areas designed for you to connect at a closer level with other politically minded bloggers or simply read what politically minded bloggers are saying about more specific issues and parties.

To join a group or browse the political groups visit http://www.blogcatalog.com/politics/groups

Political Bloggers

If you are a political blogger you may want to login to your BlogCatalog account and review the category in which your blog is placed as we have added a number of new political subcategories to the blog directory.

To view the new categories visit http://www.blogcatalog.com/directory/politics

With all the excitement and emotion surrounding the 2008 Election, political blogging, and the many hot political issues around the globe, we hope that the political channel becomes a place where bloggers can engage in passionate, informative dialog that promotes the vital importance of freedom of expression.

We are here to improve the political channel and all parts of BlogCatalog for you. So, please visit the Political Channel at http://www.blogcatalog.com/politics/discuss and feel free to share your feedback, ideas and suggestions on how we can improve the site.

As bloggers, we have something to share…. whether it’s information, opinion, emotions or a laugh. It’s what makes us sit down at that keyboard, straighten our thinking caps and assemble that crazy collection of ideas we call a post.

We quickly get comfortable in our blogs, and even in the discussion boards we frequent. Sometimes they become like virtual vacation places. We spend some time there… settle in… and ham, jam and spamalot with the locals.

We even might enjoy a certain impulsiveness in these online vacations. A refreshing break from the routine of face-to-face communications. Online, any thought can be shared in a single click. Any words can be said. Any topic proposed. We feel outside the barriers of normal inter-personal relationships. We feel outside ourselves.

But like any good vacation, eventually we must return to our regular lives. In this case, to the Real World before us. The one that pays the bills. That needs new braces or help with Math homework. The one that hires us. Or is hired by us.

You see, sometimes it gets so comfy in our online vacation homes, it becomes easy to forget that anyone could be out there peering in our windows.

Sure, we might post to entice readers… awaken our fellow bloggers… scream to hear the echo… or just say what we feel needs to be said.

But how personal is too personal? How shocking is too shocking? How will what we post today affect our personal safety? Our relationships with friends and family? Our future job prospects? Our customer relations?

How do we remain true to ourselves and our unique voices, while making sure our online world doesn’t intrude negatively on the three-dimensional one?

I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. And while I certainly don’t have all the answers, I thought a few suggestions might be a good start for more awareness, greater consideration and better safety for everyone:

• Limit personal information. While most folks know not to share their social security or phone numbers online, it’s also good to omit any information specific enough to be easily located. This means don’t share the name of the place you work, or show photos of the street you live on. And you might not want to take a photo of your car with its license plate showing—no matter how cool your car is. By giving enough color without specific details, you can stay safe and still entertain readers.
• Consider using fake names for family and friends. Many bloggers protect family and friends by being consistent with made-up names to represent each person. Remember that while we’re willingly blogging and putting our lives out there, the people in our lives may not have signed on for this. So think of those around, and how our posts might affect them. Fake names are an option that can help.
• Gain approval of family or friends before posting their stories/photos. Thinking ahead before posting about family or friends, and including their images, is a safe way to prevent future rifts. (Unless, of course, you don’t like those people anyway. ) It takes a little more time, but the extra consideration might be worth it.
• Think, WWED? (What Would Employers Do?) Before posting online, it helps to think, “What would a prospective employer do if he or she saw this?” “How would someone view my character if they didn’t otherwise know me?” If you’re up for a job, employers are likely to research you online. You can have a great resume, but if your potential boss uncovers your post, for example, bad-mouthing your current boss, this could seriously affect their decision to give you the job. Just think a minute about how a post represents you. It’s better to be safe now than sorry later.
• Treat others as you’d like to be treated. I know, I know– it’s corny and preachy. But it’s also true. A little respect goes a long way. And online, because posting is so quick and easy, it’s possible to get carried away and say things we’d never say in person. But online, we have the excellent opportunity to really THINK before we communicate. It never hurts to think first.

Now, okay– you may say you don’t care about having the world know everything about you. Your life is an open book– from your speeding ticket history to your shoe size. And hey, that’s fine, too.

But it only takes a moment to remember those windows out there, opening into our online homes. And sometimes the world is silent. But that also doesn’t mean it’s not still out there, watching.

Jenn, AKA “Thrift Shop Romantic” is not nearly as paranoid as that last sentence makes her sound. A professional writer in an unnamed marketing firm in the Real World, she has a humor blog– Of Cabbages and Kings—and a budget decorating blog, The Thrift Shop Romantic.

I’ve only been Social Networking for a little over a month and I have learned so much in that short amount of time. I am certainly no expert in Social Networking as I have a whole lot to learn. But, I do know a thing or two about marketing. When it comes to brand recognition, the rules don’t change when shifting from Corporate Branding to Social Network Branding. Name and Icon recognition are critical when it comes to building your Social Network. Here are a few quick tips to help you quickly gain name recognition in the Social Network Arena.

1. Create a Unique Name & Avatar:

The name that you use in Social Networking says a lot about you. I highly recommend using something other than your personal name. Unless you already have a well-known personal name, it’s better to use something that is a little more memorable than just another name on the web. The key to knowing if you have a unique screen name, is to do a Google search using your screen name. Does anything other than YOU come up? Using a unique name that is memorable is also the key. For example, using “iE38×2j” would be unique, but its not very memorable. It is good to use words that already exist, but may not be paired together already. There are many easily recognizable names that offer other Social Networkers a memorable, unique experience when it comes to identifying themselves. Some good examples are: Truthoughts, offendedblogger, globalgirl, DeadRooster, thegoodknife, rainforestrobin, CrotchetyOldMan, ThriftShopRomantic, DrowseyMonkey, PointlessBanter, earthlingorgeous, AnniePooh, gosmelltheflowers, momscrazylife, misterDog, Amyoops, Motherwise, Manictastic and MadameX.

When it comes to Avatars, using a unique avatar also helps, although using your face is also very useful as well. How many times have you heard the phrase, “I can remember the face, but the name escapes me.” The reason for this is that the brain has so many different senses involved in remembering a face or picture than a name. Names are composed of letters, typically black letters on white background, which is nothing special. However, with a face, or picture as an avatar, the brain has color, symbolism, facial expression and more. So many times, I recognize someone’s avatar, but I can’t remember his or her user name. Some good examples of memorable avatars are:

(There are literally thousands of great screen names and avatars out there. Please don’t be offended if you have a great example and I didn’t mention yours here.)

I personally would not suggest using famous people’s faces as your avatar. In the world of online branding, the last thing you want to do is compete with an already well-established recognition someone has for a particular famous person. You want other people to see you, for you, not be constantly reminded of someone else when they see your avatar. If you are fairly new to Social Networking and you haven’t gotten a whole lot of exposure yet, you may want to rethink your image and your name. Because once you lock in on something, you are going to want to stick with it and use the same name and avatar everywhere you go.

2. Set up an Email Account:

If you haven’t already experienced this, you will. I am talking about the joy of registering with multiple networks and sites (covered in detail in point 4). Here is what I recommend. Many Social Network / Bookmark sites allow you to find your friends using their email address. This means that people will try to find you the exact same way. Using the same email address wherever you go, will make it easier on you, as far as organization goes, and people that search for you, using your email address will be able to find you. Plus, you will start receiving a lot of mail from RSS subscriptions to Discussions, Comment Feeds, Friend Updates and you don’t want all of this cluttering up your regular email address.

For ease of uploading your contacts, I recommend using one of the following free email servers:

I also recommend setting up a simple system for remembering passwords. Do not use the same password at multiple sites. If someone gained access to your password, they could wreak havoc across your entire Social Network.

3. Use the same name/avatar/email everywhere:

This is critical. I know it seems so boring to have the same avatar, screen name and email address everywhere you go, but that’s exactly the point of branding. McDonald’s would not be where it is today had they used a different logo for each restaurant location they chose. Not to mention, if they would have changed their name every time it would have been impossible for them to gain any type of brand recognition. The same reasoning applies to your name and avatar and email address.

Whenever you post a comment on someone’s blog, sign up for a new Social Network or Bookmark site, you want people to instantly recognize you. If they can’t find you by email, they should be able to search for your screen name and find you. Sometimes your screen name is already taken, in which case you should come up with an alternate unique screen name, that is a derivative of your original screen name and only use that 2nd name as an alternate whenever you have too. So at most, you should only have two screen names. If your original screen name is unique enough, you shouldn’t have any problems, however, as you will see in step four, you will also need to protect your name once you have settled on one.

This is critical. I see so many people using different names when they post comments, different avatars on this network or that and I just cringe because they are hurting their chances for massive recognition. Massive recognition is what is going to drive traffic to your site. Content is what is going to keep them coming back, but that’s another post!

4. Secure your name.

Once you have your email, screen name and avatar in place, now it’s time to stake your claim across the Internet world of Social Networking and Bookmark sites. This task may seem a bit daunting, so I recommend you set aside some time during your online adventures to enroll in a least one new site per day; if you can swing it… 5 or more is better. You want to make sure that you lock in your screen name as many places as possible (even if you are not planning on utilizing the service immediately).

There are well over 200 Social Networking and Bookmark sites with more popping up every single day. I recommend you create a Word file, or Notepad file that contains some of the repetitive information you will need to enter on many of these sites, like your “About Me” info, blog description, etc. This will streamline the process for you. Here is a short list that will allow you to get set up on some of the most popular sites so far:

There are also quite a few blog directory sites. Some sites require or suggest that put a link to their site on your blog. There’s nothing wrong with that. They are offering to catalog your site in their directory for free. Just make sure that you put them all in the same place. on your blog, to keep it from looking cluttered. Here are some, certainly not all, blog directory sites:

5. Collect email addresses from comments on your own blog.

I have found that this is one of the easiest ways to find friends on other networks. Just file the email addresses people leave in your comments into the new email program you set up in section 2 of this post. Then it will be very easy to find your friends on other networks by importing your email lists into each new site you sign up for. Hopefully, your friends will have followed this advice and used the same email address on your blog comments that they did when they signed up for the new Social Network or Bookmark site you signing up for.

6. Above all use BlogCatalog:

BlogCatalog has emerged as the premier website that brings together bloggers of every make and model. This one website is like your one stop shop for promoting your blog, connecting with friends, entering discussions, sharing ideas, creating partnerships, getting answers and more. BC recently went through a major upgrade that has made the experience there all the more incredible. One of the most amazing features of BC is it’s ability to network all of your Social Networks and Bookmark sites, into one nice, neat little package. Now, not only can you can keep track of where you have been, but so can everyone else.

TheGoodKnife recently wrote a post describing the new social search function at BlogCatalog. Here is what he had to say:

Given the right search terms, BlogCatalog’s Social Search is an amazing tool to find some interesting things across multiple social sites indexed by BlogCatalog users. Social search creates a chronological mix of photos, tweets, bookmarks, music, and much more.

BarryFromTexas posted an article with this to say:

Blog Catalog has helped me tweak this blog to be better than when I started, I have received help from fellow bloggers and enjoyed some increased blog traffic from fellow BC-ers.

So maybe, just maybe you don’t know what Blog Catalog is. Well if you scroll down my sidebar, you will see a bunch of little boxes with faces/pictures of fellow BC users that have visited my blog. It is almost a way to spy on them (hee hee). Hey, I had to get some kind of detective/spy thing running through here!

RobertStevenson over at Rob’s Megaphone also wrote a great article about BlogCatalog. I like what he had to say about it:

The BC discussion boards are amazing. So far at least 18 billion topics have been discussed (no really - I never exaggerate). The general discussion board is like a townhall meeting (without the townhall). There are threads on support, shameless promotion, general discussion, and how to win the lottery in 4 easy steps (Oops, I don’t really think that one about support is accurate-or maybe it’s the lottery one.) There are also many, many groups you can join to just be with people of similar interests. There are groups for humor, religion, writing, and honoring Rob’s Megaphone; if there’s not a group on a topic you’re interested in - hey, you can start one like I did. (Just ignore that honoring Rob’s Megaphone thing; it was just for Mr. Google - private joke).

You can befriend BC bloggers and follow them, you can join their neighborhood. You can shout at them. You can pass secret notes back and forth too. You can review and be reviewed. You can even download a seven course dinner for free.

I love BlogCatalog for the people, the great dicsussions, and that traffic I receive on my blog from BlogCatalog users. Don’t you just love getting visitors to your blog? If you would like to see a whole bunch more come by be sure to head over to BlogCatalog and get signed up. Then I highly recommend joining in the discussions so that others may get to know you. Make people your friends and many of them will respond in kind.

7. Have Fun

Above all, make sure that you have fun. There are so many wonderful things that you can accomplish on the Internet with your blog. Its up to you to have as much fun as you can while you are building your personal brand. Just remember, there is plenty of time to get everything you need to done.

Well, so much for seven “quick” tips, but I hope you got a lot out of this post.

Happy Blogging

OutsideMyBrain

OutsideMyBrain is a motivational speaker / successful entrepreneur who got his start in Network Marketing by working hard for 8 solid years. Retired 6 years ago, OutsideMyBrain has been living life, how he wants to live it, off of residual income. OutsideMyBrain continues to speak so that he may remain sharp and give back to others.

Bloggers Unite Rocks the Blogosphere. Featured on CNN.

On May 15th 2008, tens of thousands of bloggers from BlogCatalog and the blogosphere united for human rights. Thanks to BlogCatalog members this was the largest group of bloggers in history, blogging on a single day, to raise awareness about human rights. The event was even featured on CNN, and several of BlogCatalog member’s blogs were shown on the air. You can view the CNN coverage at http://unite.blogcatalog.com/

Thanks to you, Bloggers Unite has become the primary blog initiative designed to harness expression in support of human rights and other issues that need highlighting. Bloggers Unite is now in a key position to harness and rally energy behind global issues that need awareness.

The next Bloggers Unite initiative will take place on November 10th. To cast your vote on what issue to unite about next, please join in on the discussions at http://www.blogcatalog.com/discuss/entry/decide-the-next-bloggers-unite-initiative

Your New BlogCatalog

It’s been around a week since we launched the new BC design and we hope you are as psyched about the updated designs as we are. Your updated personal profiles now have tabs that make it easy to view your BlogCatalog friends, neighborhoods, groups and social activity.

Your Activity page provides you with a convenient way for others to keep track of the things you are doing on BlogCatalog as well as on Twitter, Digg, StumbleUpon, Flickr, and many other social communities that you may belong to. To add communities to your BlogCatalog Activity page, visit blogcatalog.com/account/communities and select the communities you belong to that you’d like to add.

Twitter for Beginners on Ustream.tv

Twitter, BlogCatalog and other social media tools and communities are changing the way we interact. This coming Monday, social media expert, Erica O’Grady will be featured on on BlogCatalog’s Ustream.tv channel where she will be on camera talking about Twitter for Beginners. If you are using Twitter and aren’t sure of its benefits, or have never used Twittter, then this is the perfect way to learn how to use Twitter in a way to create your personal brand and get more traffic to your blog.

When: Monday, June 16th at 3pm EST

What: The show is FREE. Watch Erica from your computer, and ask questions in an online chat.

Where: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/blogcatalog

The BC team will be there too. Hope you’ll join us on Monday.

Too often I come across an interesting piece of information on a blog that does not contain links to the author’s sources. That’s too bad. All I can do at that point is shrug my shoulders and wonder if the story is true. Then I’ll probably close that browser tab and go somewhere else, because I won’t risk experiencing similar frustration with a second story on the same blog. Of course, if the story is really important to me, I can do further research on Google, which is fair enough. At the same time, though, what reason have you given me to go back to your blog? None. Offer me a good, well sourced post, though, and I will be back.

Links to your sources are important for at least four reasons:

1. Verifiability. Links to your sources allow me to verify whether or not your story is true. For this to work, though, they should point to hard news sources, not just another blog. Bobbie Sullivan does this on Aircrew Buzz and her other aviation blogs.

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2. Acknowledgment. Sources permit you to acknowledge where you got your ideas and information from in the first place. These can include not only hard news sources, but also any blog or other source that sparked you to think about the topic. If the information is not generally known, though, include additional sources to satisfy the verifiability requirement. I sometimes handle acknowledgments with a hat tip. You can see one Gavin Robinson gave me in the first paragraph of the 14th Military History Carnival.

3. Examples. Sources can help provide you with the kinds of examples you need to support your arguments. Since the internet is a hypertext environment, sources can also help you to pack more information into a post without providing loads of background details. I used links in this manner in the second paragraph of a post about generational differences between Barack Obama and Jeremiah Wright. I’m also linking examples in this post about sources.

4. Context. Sources help locate your ideas within their broader context. By providing links to that context, you help your reader to understand how your ideas relate to other opinions and discussions on the internet, and on your own blog. In the process you provide additional value to your reader, giving her one more reason to return. One blogger who often provides good context through linked sources is Rich Becker of Copywrite. Ink.

Of course, not all blog posts need sources. If you are writing about your own life, you are the acknowledged expert on it. Enough said. And no one who has heard Tony Hogan’s music is going to ask him to provide sources for the advice he offers on learning the guitar. It helps, though, that he has a good about page on his blog, which tells us a bit more about him. And what about me? Why do I think I can offer this advice without providing sources on the art of sourcing? My field is history, and getting students to understand the value of sources is one of my everyday teaching concerns. Yes, I could be making this up, but you can find out more about me at Clio and Me.

Mark Stoneman is a historian specializing in modern Germany, as well as war and society. His first blog, Clio and Me, is devoted to history. Language For You focuses on writing and other language issues for native and non-native speakers. His third blog, Stoneman’s Corner is a personal blog that encompasses anything from politics to reading to food.

Hello dear friends,

I am so excited to be posting my first few words on the BlogCatalog community blog. I have been part of the BC community for just over 12 months now, and its amazing how I missed this community blog. I should have joined here ages back ! I was scrolling through this blog for the past 15 minutes and saw a few familiar faces whom I have seen in the community forums.

As this is my first post, I would like to introduce myself. I am an electronics and communications engineer from India. I am currently working in a telecom software development firm. Blogging comes to me as a natural hobby and a great way to explore the world from the comfort of my bedroom.

BlogCatalog has a major role to play in keeping me interested in blogging. Some months back, I was toying with the idea to give it up as the work pressure was too much. However, the vibrant community discussions at BC kept me hooked to blogging. BC has grown from strength to strength over the past 12 months and has really come up as one of the most professional blogging communities on the internet.

I wish the BC team all the best in their future projects, and a warm thanks to all my friends at BC who take the time to visit my blog.

Thanks and Regards
Abhatnagar !

abhatnagar19 is a 22 year old male electronics and communications engineer from India. His blog, My Life as it is… takes a look at the world around him. From polititics to sports or technology to personal issues abahatnagars blog covers it all!

We have great news! All eyes will be on Bloggers Unite For Human Rights this May 15th because Amnesty International, a worldwide movement that campaigns for internationally recognized human rights, will be joining, supporting, and drawing attention to participating bloggers — and that could mean you!

In addition to promoting the campaign to its hundreds of thousands of members, Amnesty International is providing BlogCatalog source material for bloggers. Topics range from the wrongful imprisonment of journalist Shi Tao in China to the continuing murder, rape, abduction, and displacement of people in Darfur, Sudan.

You can find some of these resources on our new Amnesty International resource section at http://unite.blogcatalog.com#amnesty. Of course, you can write about any human rights topic you want. Some BlogCatalog members may even write about topics that have yet to gain international attention.

You might also be interested to know that Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International USA has some great things to say about our campaign.

"Amnesty International is thrilled to be a part of Bloggers Unite for Human Rights," he said. "Bloggers Unite for Human Rights is a great way to harness the power of the Internet to fight injustice and make the world a better place."

There are any great human rights organizations all over the world, but if you would like to know something about our Amnesty International, please visit http://www.amnestyusa.org for more information. Currently, Amnesty International is working to stop the abuse of internationally recognized human rights in over 150 countries and territories. The organization won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1961.

Thanks so much for your continued support! More and more people are taking notice of your efforts. On behalf of the entire BlogCatalog team, thank you and we look forward to reading your posts on May 15!

What is it all about? Well, let me tell you. It’s about politics. Of course you knew I’d say that, being a political blogger, it isn’t that big of a stretch really. I know what you’re thinking. “Oh, I don’t really like politics, I don’t like talking about it, not really. Politics are boring.” Oh how wrong you are! Every person lives amongst political atmospheres. Whether you dwell in the tumultuous battle fields of political blogs, littered with intellectual land mines and and a smattering of incoherent rants or raves, or you prefer the oh-so-subtle political atmosphere at work, otherwise known as the water-cooler, no matter how you slice and dice it, you are immersed in politics, all day, every day.

Why does this matter? Because it does. Because it affects you, and me, and your nosy neighbor down the street. It also affects online communications and social forums such as BlogCatalog. Here it is…wait for it….yes! The gratuitous plug! Online blogging platforms and social forums such as BlogCatalog are rife, rife I say with politics! Of course, there is more to the story here. There always is.

BlogCatalog saved my faith, in people that is. Well, the forums here at BlogCatalog, in tandem with a few wonderful fellow bloggers and BlogCatalog junkies are what did the trick.

See now, prior to my addiction to BlogCatalog, I was totally and completely consumed by such social forums as MySpace, and online debate forums. During my escapades on other sites I realized one thing, or so I thought. They have all lost their minds! Of course, my world is one of political debate and discourse. I argue, I entice, I sometimes even bait! My patience however, had finally run out.

Once one got beyond the utter illiteracy of many of the participants, and found something in their posts to comprehend, one immediately regretted having read it at all. The amount of sheer ignorance, willful ignorance, and hatred and bile wasn’t just astounding, oh no! It made me want to put my head through my monitor! Towards the end of it, I had decided that I would have more fun if I stopped reading the threads, and simply poked myself in the eye with a sharp stick.

I was beginning to think that MySpace was really a typo, what they meant to call it was migraine.

Enter in BlogCatalog and all of it’s whiz-bang members. I of course stumbled into the general forums, cracking my knuckles with a maniacal laugh thinking “What kind of mischief can I cause here?” To my surprise I found something rare. Something unheard of. Something so utterly incomprehensible to my political debate centered mind I had no idea what to make of it.

It’s called…reason.

Humanity is saved! The lack of of patience that I had built up alongside with a certain amount of overall disgust that had me on the brink of grabbing my pitchfork and rifle and starting a revolution on my own melted away. Not that revolution is a bad thing, in my opinion, But there is something to be said for timing, and lack of a militia to wage one. members like Kdawg, AmmoBob, KevinGoodman, and ChelleB - all politically inclined in their own way, and quite stubborn, and opinionated stepped up, debated, and it was just magic. We didn’t all agree, certainly not. We did however, manage logical, rational conversations that actually went somewhere! I have even forged friendships and blog exchanges with folks such as AmmoBob, my complete opposite politically speaking.

It was about that time, I’m sure, that Satan had to go shopping for an overcoat.

That not withstanding, friendships such as with “Horseboy” otherwise known as Kdawg, the Aspiring horseplayer helped me to understand that all was not lost. People were there, and they were listening, and compromises could be made. Bridges could be gapped. Unfortunately politics exist on BlogCatalog too. That old “water-cooler” political style that inevitably does someone in. Some bloggers have walked away from BlogCatalog, and we want them back!

However, as I said before it’s all about politics, anyway.

The moral of the story? There is none, aside from the fact that coming into BlogCatalog is like walking into the script of some sappy movie, “When logic met reason” or some such thing. It’s true - you too can restore your faith that people are, in fact, intelligent. Wow.

You can boost your blog hits to boot. Is that a deal or what?

Anok is a self proclaimed political junkie and dork. She can be found regularly in the blogcatalog discussions. Her blog Identity Check is a political place for opinions, research, and musings from the Anarchist / Activist point of view.

You know, its been over a year now since I began working on stuff for blogcatalog. I remember the day Tony bought it; I thought he might have been a little crazy. I mean, I at least read blogs and had a personal one or two of my own at the time but it was all new to him. Nonetheless he embraced it with open arms, and we (the BlogCatalog Team) began cleaning things up and adding more and more features.

I really admire the blind faith of the BC owners, not just in the purchase of the website, but also in myself and Daniel (our lead programmer). There have been many times when one of us will come up with an idea and Tony will just let us run with it, sometimes without even understanding it completely. It’s nice to be in a position where your input matters, even if it’s just a little bit. I think that sometimes just seeing that we are passionate about something, even if he doesn’t agree with it, means that he is going to give us a shot to go in a new direction and that is awesome.

Earlier today I saw that Alexa updated their algorithm. To my surprise we were ranked 816 yesterday. Now I know that Alexa is not the end-all of stats or anything but over a year ago I remember the team looking at the statistics (which were closer to 2 or 3 thousand back then) and setting a personal goal to try our best to break the 1,000 mark in a year. Whether the number they provide is an accurate representation of traffic or not, it HAS been an accurate representation of our goal… constantly taunting us for the past few months as we floated just above 1,000 but unable to pass it… That is until just recently.

The truth is, this past year and a half has been a fun ride. I have read more blogs, and met more interesting people in one year than I have in my entire life. While I do not get the opportunity to sit in the discussions and have small talk as much as I would like, my admin responsibilities have given me the opportunity to at least keep up with the fun topics and subjects each day. I really feel like our discussions are the heartbeat of the blogosphere. If something new gets announced at 2:00pm in the blogosphere I can assure you there will be a post about it in the discussions at 2:01pm.

The bottom line though is that despite all of our hard work, despite the late nights, and thousands and thousands of blog approvals each week this place is NOTHING without the community. I can’t help but ask myself ‘how did we get so lucky?’ because the truth is we DID get lucky. I mean there are THOUSANDS of other websites and social networks out there, backed by more money and with far more advanced features… but the trick with these things… the real million dollar question is: how do you get the people to come and stay? That is where I think the biggest variable in sites like these comes in and it all boils down to dumb luck.

We were lucky enough from the very beginning to have really passionate and helpful members visiting our site everyday. Leaving comments, posting discussions, helping new members… When you have such a strong and friendly community the possibilities are endless. I am truly grateful for each and every person who graces our website and decides to submit their blog to the directory.

Whether they are a new user looking to learn, or an experienced blogger looking to grow readership and share their knowledge, the love that this community has is really admirable.

The truth is, blogging is hard, it is not just a hobby and it takes a lot of work to be disciplined enough and inspired enough to post new entries on a consistent basis. Anyone who takes the time to create a blog, and write, and join a community like this one automatically gains respect from the regulars here. Because we all know how hard it is to be consistent with something like blogging.

One of my favorite parts of the site are the discussions because from the very beginning when I told the team I wanted to make a way for people to communicate outside the shoutbox I remember thinking about what we could do to NOT make it a forum. When we sat down as a team and starting coming up with ideas it was apparent that we did not want to make categories. The problem with most forums is that if you are a technology blogger you got to the technology threads, if you are a mother blogger, you would go to the mom threads. People flock to the areas that they are most comfortable in all the while forgetting the most important thing that we all have in common: We are all bloggers.

And being bloggers says a lot. So we decided to have a free flowing open area for people to talk about whatever comes to mind and that is where the magic happens because now you have a history professor from Florida talking to a stay at home mom from England, to a technology blogger in New York and a 12 year old blogger from wherever and we’re breaking down these social barriers we give ourselves online.

The truth is that BlogCatalog is just a shell, and it is empty without every single one of you who take the time to participate. We (the BC Team) could add feature after feature but at the end of the day it doesn’t matter if there is no one here to share it with.

I started this post with the intention of plugging the community blog but it seems as though this post has evolved into something different. You know, Daniel first mentioned he wanted to open our blog up to the community about 6 or 7 months ago. It wasn’t until recently that we have actually done so and I have to say that I am really enjoying the posts that have come through so far. It really is a testament to all the great writers we have out there.

Despite this post’s rambling and lack of direction I hope that I have at least given you some insight into my thought process as I come into work each day.

As someone who has to approve hundreds of blogs a day for blogcatalog I leave you with this parting thought for the day…

People can get their news and information from anywhere; from the television, to the newspaper, to the radio… The reason that blogging is one of the fastest growing forms of news and media has more to do with just the speed of information, it has to do with the voices behind that information. I think that people are bored with just the facts. They want the opinions, they want to hear the voice of the author, and they want to participate in discussions around these posts. If you aren’t doing so already, I challenge you to engage your audience. I challenge you to write your posts not just in a boring standard format but write to your readers as though you were having a conversation with them. Engage the audience of your blog and share yourself with them because from my experience those are the types of blogs that people become attached to in a more intimate nature. Those are the blogs you want to keep reading day after day.

NINE is a 27 year old graphic designer working for BlogCatalog. He is responsible for the day to day administration and new product development. His blog CellRater is a resource for information and news on upcoming cellphones.