Webupon

In the past several weeks, I have received several dozen emails from writers and bloggers who are interested in learning how to increase their blog’s popularity using the Internet and after long consideration I decided to write this article to answer some of the questions that were posed by several of my fans. By no means, is this the last of these types of articles, but in fact only the first article in a series of five marketing articles that are designed to help any writer or blogger gradually take baby steps into the world of Internet marketing.

In my opinion, before participating in any social bookmarking network it is important to understand what they are and how they are different. Some social bookmarking networks are dedicated to serious Internet content while others accept just about anything else that its members have found interesting to bookmark and share with other members that are in their networks.

What is social bookmarking?

Social bookmarking is a unique service allowing its members to save, review and share websites, articles, photos and music that they discover on the Internet. Once a website is discovered, then the social bookmarking member can write a review about the website and share it with the rest of the social bookmarking community that they belong to. If a website has already been discovered by another member, then in this case the other members can visit the website and later write their own review as well as vote on the website either up or down depending on the impression that the website had left on the visitor.

How many social bookmarking services are there on the Internet?

There are hundreds of social bookmarking services on the Internet, but right now there are only a handful worth participating in, because of their size and popularity. Not all social bookmarking services are created equally and if marketing is the purpose for joining, then targeting the biggest and most popular of these services is the way to go.

How can I locate these social bookmarking services?

Really they are quiet easy to locate using search engines like Google, Ask or any one of the hundreds of other search engines available to the general public on the Internet. Try using keywords like “Social Bookmarking” or “Social Networks” when conducting a search while using your favorite search engine. Search engines respond more accurately when using descriptive keywords that are more precise or focused on the actual subject that is being searched for.

StumbleUpon

StumbleUpon is one of my personal favorite social bookmarking websites and the community is very friendly thus making each visit more welcoming. The members can invite other members to join their friends’ internal networks or just be a fan of another member’s website discoveries. The types of bookmarks that are added vary from very serious to light and humorous.

For Marketing Purposes

StumbleUpon is an excellent social bookmarking service for bookmarking anything light and humorous or top 10 lists that are useful and entertaining. There are much better social bookmarking services for bookmarking more serious articles, videos and websites than StumbleUpon.

Digg

This social bookmarking service is by far the biggest and most popular on the Internet and its members reflect all of the signs that any wildly popular website on the Internet has shown and that is there willingness to spend countless hours reviewing, discovering and sorting through the junk websites sometimes submitted by its members, so to discover a real gem. Digg members are very serious people and it sometimes reflects in a negative way as to how other members are treated by their fellow members. Digg is not always the nicest place to visit, but it is by far the best website to visit and submit new content to, if you are a Webmaster or blogger wanting to increase traffic to a website or article that you like and want to share with millions of other potential visitors.

For Marketing Purposes

Digg is a social bookmarking service that generates millions of page views per month and attracts new members from all four corners of the world. Use this website to Digg more serious websites, articles, videos, music and photos. Submitting poetry is a waste of time and doesn’t generate much traffic or interest from the larger Digg community.

Blue Dot

While this is not the biggest or even the most active of social bookmarking service on the Internet, it is one of the best to learn your way around a social bookmarking space at your own pace. Members at BlueDot generally are very nice and like to share humorous bookmarks as well as serious natured articles and photographs. It is a waste of time submitting poetry or short stories here at BlueDot, because they do not do well here on this website.

For marketing purposes

BlueDot is not your run-of-the-mill social bookmarking site as humorous bookmarks rules the day at BlueDot. Eager members can quickly build a social friends network consisting of hundreds of like-minded members in just a few weeks, thus increasing the sheer number of potential visitors into the thousands. Building a private friends network is the key to attracting and earning the respect of new readers and visitors from around the world in a short period of time.

Fark

Fark is quite unique as it is a social bookmarking service where members bookmark mostly odd, weird and humorous websites, articles, videos and photos. Visitors and members will not find too much serious natured websites or articles here at Fark. The community is pleasant to interact with, but remember this is a serious community where laughter fills the air and jackasses are quickly put into their place.

For Marketing Purposes

Use Fark to submit any odd, weird or humorous articles, photos, videos or websites. This is really not the place to bookmark anything of a serious nature, because it is not the reason that its members or visitors choose to visit this website. Submitting anything of a serious nature is a waste of time, but the weirder the bookmark content is, then the better for this website and your marketing efforts.

Shoutwire

This is an excellent website for anyone who enjoys political or religious articles, photos, videos and websites. Although, other types of bookmarks can be discovered here at Shoutwire, it seems that the majority of bookmarks are political or religious in nature and that is fine by me, because I personally enjoy this type of thing every once in a while. Members are able to review and leave comments on their own bookmarks or for other members’ bookmarks, just like the other social bookmarking websites.

For Marketing Purposes

Use this bookmarking service to bookmark your favorite political or religious article, photo, video or website. Although, members can bookmark non-political and non-religious photos, articles, videos or websites that they like, the bookmarks that attract the most viewers are political and religious ones.

Ebizmba

Use this website to locate the top 30 social bookmarking sites and their overall rankings. Great ways to easily and quickly obtain the marketing information that you need to know.