MyBlogLog is Improving my Social Life

I have been wanting to blog my thoughts about MyBlogLog, a social networking site that seems to cater largely to search marketers, bloggers and tech enthusiasts. I filled out a profile for the free service at MyBlogLog.com about a month or so ago when I noticed it on TechCrunch. I have signed up to test a great many social networking sites and have found only a few that I am willing to invest time into. MyBlogLog exceeded my expecations.

Here’s how it works. Every member sets up a profile with an avatar and any info they want to show about themselves including physical address, IM id’s and links to their profiles on other social media sites like digg, Flickr, MySpace, etc. MyBlogLog members can add sites and blogs they author onto separate MyBlogLog pages. Each site page becomes a community on MyBlogLog.com that other members may join and interact actively or passively with widgets (comments, rss feeds, top links). You can view stats on the number of visits to your community page on MyBlogLog and also page views to any sites you have setup there.

None of this sounds very new, but hold on and you will see the magic behind it. The avatar image that links to your user profile follows you around, both on MyBlogLog.com and on any user who has the MyBlogLog JavaScript pasted into their site. So if you visit Michael Arrington’s profile, your avatar now appears on Michael’s page. Everyone sees your image on Michael’s page and suddenly you feel cool. If you see a fellow MyBlogLogger’s profile appear on your page, you know for sure that they have actually seen your site. You can shoot them a quick message saying thanks for visiting and tell them what you like about them. Now you are connected.

I have seen several well known bloggers and marketers who have set up MyBlogLog profiles. What ends up happening is you start browsing through the profiles and checking out other user sites, leaving your trail. Other bloggers see your image on their site and curiosly click over to check out your site. I have connected with some interesting people that I otherwise probably never would have met. I’ve also run into an existing friend or two there.

The MyBlogLog About page says it well:

You probably know a ton about your favorite bloggers - what they think about the subjects they write about, maybe some of their work and life history… you may even know what toothpaste they use. But how much do you know about all the other people who read their blogs? And how much do they know about you?

Also:

Authors can learn more about their readers individually and as a group. What do they like and what are they ignoring? What are they reading elsewhere on the Web?

Here is a list of profiles and user ID’s from other services that you can plug in and aggregate at MyBlogLog:

• Flickr
• LiveJournal
• MySpace
• Upcoming.org
• Second Life
• Digg
• Friendster
• LinkedIn
• Plaxo
• 30 Boxes
• Google Calender
• Watchr
• Textamerica
• The DJ List
• Zorpia
• TypeKey
• Blogger
• Bebo
• del.icio.us

If you try MyBlogLog, remember that it’s not just about learning about other bloggers, it’s about making friends with them. To get something out of it, you’ll have to come out of that shell and introduce yourself. However, introducing yourself becomes much easier when you know something about the other person such as the fact that they visited your site. Just as with every social networking site, at least a few spammers have infiltrated, but there is a system for reporting them and it seems have been swatted down.

I know what you’re thinking. What are the SEO benefits or drawbacks of MyBlogLog? Your profile allows you to add an organic link to your blog or web site. You also get a link to other of your supported profile pages elsewhere like MySpace, Flickr, etc. In addition, you get a link on a separate page to any sites you want to add as communities. That’s about it, as far as I can tell. The code you put on your site/blog is just a JavaScript so there shouldn’t be any organic link juice spillage from your site.