Case-Notes from the Artsy Asylum: Making Connections 24-7

I don't think I'm aware of a time in my life during which I wasn't excited about one thing or another. I like ideas. Maybe I even love ideas. It's like people saying that they're bored and I'm thinking: what's up with that?

I've been excited about a wide variety of things that have kind of rolled on, one tumbling into another, overlapping all through my life. And right now this blog thing is taking center stage because I'm really seeing the advantage to me as an artist.

Like holding a 24-7 open studio and not having to serve wine and cheese or clean up after it.

So there's the blog thing and the new series of artistamps for spring thing and the featured artist in one website or publication or another thing and - well I just love all of them.

In fact, there are so many ideas - and some of you know this about me - swirling around in my head I know that I'll never get to all of them in one lifetime. In fact I'm thinking more and more that the ADHD - Entrepreneur link that Dave Taylor & Pete Quily talked about is pretty much spot on for a lot of artists too.

And I think that Jim Stroud, who I met through the LinkedIn Bloggers group might be a little like me - but not so scattered I hope.

He's talking about an idea for ways to promote the work of fellow bloggers. And that's the beauty of much of the Bloggosphere. It's populated with people who are not only see the potential of promoting others but they are generous by way of a kind of philosophy that doing good is its own reward.

So as part of a kind of an abundance mentality, Jim's current idea is something he's calling "a LinkedIn Blogger Boost."

I know that it will work too. And one of the big reasons that it will work is because it's essentially word of mouth advertising. And you can't buy that.

His proposal is to chose a blog (or two) from the group and on a certain day, we all mention that blog on our respective blogs and link to them.

Why? Well this is the way blogs make the climb up the search engine ladder and create that all important bloggosphere word; the magic of buzz. Linkedinbloggersmedallion

Jim says

". . we could also mention our Linked In Bloggers Group and why we are doing it - to promote the members of our group. (I believe in full disclosure.) This would attract potential members which would pitch in on writing up other blogs we decide to promote in the future. Which means, everytime we do the "LinkedIn Blogger Boost" it becomes more powerful. (At least in theory...)

And I think it WILL be so in fact. After all -

My best resources for new collectors have been current collectors.
The people who refer the most new artistamp users to me are current stamp users.
The people who've brought me more students have been current students

I think that the way more people will learn about us is through our blogs, And the way people will learn about our blogs is not by someone looking for it or for us paying to advertise it. I think it will be through someone who already knows about it.

And that someone may be you. Have you told someone about some of your favorite blogs lately? Make a list of two or five or seven or whatever you want and send it to your friends. Post it on your blog. Pass it on to your favorite Yahoo group.

You know, it just can't hurt to pay it forward. Or maybe in this case blog it forward.

You can find Jim at http://blogcharm.com/jimstroud
and the LinkedIn Bloggers here LinkedinBloggers