by Melanie Feliciano

Orlando (Oct. 3, 2009) – Bloggers are convening at Sea World this weekend to discuss the latest trends in social media. Some of the bloggers we networked with were Jeile Marie, Liz Strauss, John Raser, Mark Jaquith.

One panel that we were especially interested in since the purpose of this blog is to “Help Writers Get Paid,” was “What Advertisers Want.” Moderator Brett Bumeter and panelists George Smith, John Andrews, Joseph Jaffe, Zena Weist discussed the following topics:

• What is your content strategy and are you consistent?
• How engaged are you with your audience and what is your influence in your specific niche?
• Are you full of BS or are you passionate about a topic and willing to build trust OVER time?

Later in the day, Chris Brogan used humor to help bloggers make a business from their blog(s). He called the speech, “Go Deep Or Go Home: It’s a big sea out there, and if you’re too afraid to jump-in and play with the big boys then you might want to sit this one out.”

Isn’t this so true? As soon as I went on my own, I suddenly started having visions of mermaids swimming among sharks. I thought it was because I live in Miami and there ARE actually sharks living here…but I went a little overboard and created a character called the Urban Mermaid.

These femalez are using technology to network with their communities and their world at-large, but it takes so much T-I-M-E that they often feel trapped inside their virtual worlds. For example, this week, I have spent more time talking to people online than I have spent talking to real, physical people. I suppose that’s why it’s so important to go to conferences like Izeafest.

Brogan says you can’t wait for permission to try new ideas out. Ohhhh! Says the clueless Porto Rican Princess. I was actually waiting for someone to pat me on the back and confirm to me that my idea is good. Nope. Not gonna happen. Just gotta dzu it, otherwise someone else will – and they may not do it as well as you.

Brogan adds that all of us have the ability to type, but WHO CARES? You’ve gotta create content that actually helps people, and isn’t just a mental masturbation (well, he didn’t use that phrase, but I think it’s a generally accepted one in the world of me, me, me blogging).

He also puts into perspective the realities of making money from a blog. He’s got 32,000 people subscribed to his RSS feeds and he makes $140 on click-thrus (he didn’t say whether that’s per day or per month). Regardless, that’s not a lot of $$$, people.

It’s important to point to other people (and not yourself) who are doing this blogging thing correctly. Groups and inclusiveness are business values now because people like to feel wanted.

OK, so Chris Brogan is actually doing this blogging thing correctly. I just read an article he posted called “The Audacity of Free.” OMG! This is so my struggle as a writer. At one point I was making $1 per word at LatinaVoz.com AND I was paying other writers $1/word to write articles for The Angel Journal (I used the pen name “Kemila Velan” for these two gigz as an experiment to see how my life would change using a different name – it was an experiment that kinda blew up in my face, which is always a possibility when you are a mad scientist, so I went back to Melanie Feliciano…I’m working on the second draft of this story, so stay tuned).

Back to Mr. Brogan’s post – he talks about the real costs of doing things and yet people still try to get them for free. Ugh! This is so annoying. But my first mistake is in taking it personally. I realize you must simply be unemotional in business, hence my Femmebot character. She speaks kinda deadpan and filters bullshit faster than a…fertilizing machine? I’m trying…

So I posted a comment on his post, as he suggested good bloggers should do, and I tried to write it from the heart rather than trying to get attention to my own blog. But who am I fooling? I was at Izeafest to make more human connections with people so they will check out my blog, for crying out loud! Isn’t that what everyone else was there for? And yet everyone kept saying stuff like, “Oh, he’s real…or she’s real.” I mean, unless they are Femmebot like me, what else could the human speaking behind the microphone be, except for R-E-A-L? “Oh, he’s really authentic…she’s really authentic.” Bah! We are all authentic, we are all just at different levels of expressing ourselves. Some people are shy turtles and are desperately trying to come out of their shells, and perhaps they come off as not that exciting…some people are big fat ego cheetahs and perhaps they come off as F-A-K-E, but maybe they are just a little bit nervous because everyone is staring at them, and they never took an acting class.

Chris Brogan just happens to be more experienced at expressing himself. Sure, there was a time when he was just a little insecure fat B-O-Y just like I used to be an insecure little Porto Rican Princess and now I’ve got this blogging platform to write obnoxious things and hit the “Publish” button. Hey, is this what Brogan meant about jumping in and playing with the big B-O-Yz? OK, I’m through with nice-nice PR blogging girl who is trying to please everyone so she can attract more traffic. Apparently BITCH blogging girl is what attracts more traffic.

Hmmm. Nah. It’s not really the image I’m going for. I’d like to strike a balance somehow. As a yoga teacher, this is my duty. As Joseph Jaffe of www.Crayonville.com said today on the panel about “What Advertisers Want,” you’ve gotta be “fair and balanced.” What a great frickin yoga practice!

Other bloggers I know who are doing it right? Props to Sean Scott Maguire, resident Geek Ambassador of MIA, Lee & Paul Reyes of CoupleDumb.com and one of my favorites – Redacted.