How ’bout you. Do YOU Digg? What about Stumble? I do, weekly. I am not talking about picking up a shovel or having a few too many.

These two sites, and many more like them, are places to find new cool sites, blogs, posts, videos, pictures, and in general- stuff. If you are ever having a brain dead day and can’t think of something to blog about- head on over to one of these and find out what’s hott! right now and have instant blogging fodder.

Not only are they great to find new places and things, but each “find” is rated. Looking for a good article about Bibles being banned at the 2008 Olympics? Well, you have a choice. Would you like to read an article that 5 people thought was good or one that 103 thought was interesting?

One thing I have really enjoyed on StumbleUpon, is the networking side of it all. I have “met” a few new people, had them stop by my blog, and discovered their sites, as well. If you are trying to build your readership, signing up for at least one of these sites is a must!

So how does all these cool sites and blogs, etc get on these networks? You and me! I have a personal policy (seems like I have a lot of these, don’t I?) I stumble, digg, or sk*rt at least, in the very minimum, one post or site a week. Usually I average two, though.

Right now you are probably wondering why I feel so strongly about this to make it a personal policy to digg, stumble or sk*rt weekly. Karma, baby. Pay it forward, share the love. Random kindness.

When I find a post, especially from one of my normal blogging buddies, that moves me emotionally, teaches me something, or is just plain out hilarious, it’s only fair of me to share that with the world! Not only will I be sharing with the world, but it helps the writer to gain exposure, sometimes ad revenue, and general good vibes. You know when you check your stats (and I KNOW we all do) and see lots of hits from new sources, it makes you happy. It does for me, at least.

Sometimes I mean to share one of your post with these sites, but forget. What could you do to help me remember? Well, short from emailing me or harassing me, why not put a button on your site? At the end of individual posts, is the easiest way for readers to remember.

There are all kinds of plugins, buttons, widget, thingies, and whatchamacallits available. You can get them from the sites, your blogging platforms and other random places. I have seen some like mine (see my button that says “Share This” at the bottom of this post?) that cover all the sites together, and once clicked on will let you choose what site you would like to use. I have also seen several variations of bars that list all the sites and choices to click on.

Why am I even posting on this? No, it’s not so I will get ya’ll to start sharing my posts more. (I mean if you want to, I definitely won’t fight you on it!) But, I was really lost on this whole idea until a few months ago. I get it now and wanted to share. Sharing is caring, right?

I have been reading a lot of new blogs lately and noticed quite a few people mention trying to grow their blog, which admittedly is something I have been trying to do. I have been blogging for many years now and it has been in just the last few months that I discovered there is a whole lot more to building readership than just slapping up a few post a week.

Trying to grow your blog can be a lot of work! One of the easiest things to do to start is to reach out and share other people’s posts. I can promise you this from my short experience, if you click theirs, they are way more likely to click yours!

Even if you are not trying to build readership, this is still for you. Spreading the love like this will only put a smile on your face, too. Just think about that happy feeling you are going to be giving to another blogger, a little random kindness, if you will. We all know the world could use some more of that. Why not let it start with you?

I am thankful for…

technology. Seriously, isn’t life with technology great? It’s hard to imagine my daily grind without the internet or a cellphone. Yes, I could survive without them, but I am very glad that I have them. I am quickly turning into a techno geek, which my hubby finds very amusing. It used to be solely him, now it’s me leading him along just as much!

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