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Ok, so. I wrote a little article last Saturday featuring Darren Rowse’s story of a Secret Blog Alliance. In which I did or did not admit to anything. The discussion that erupted was really interesting… so much so that I’m delighted to present the first of three, possibly four follow-on articles. Here’s the first, from Kelly Diels.

Not-So-Secret Blog Alliances

-by Kelly Diels

Psssst…I’ve got a secret.

You might know me as a writer who bares (almost) all my tawdry tales of failed romance on a demure blog that appears to be named for my breasts.

From that, you might suspect that my life is a roller coaster.

Put those suspicions aside. Not all is as it seems.

Most of my days are about packed lunches and laundry, birthday parties and baseball games, and pony-tails and paying bills.

And just between you, me, and some search engines, I’m not sure which role is my cover and which one requires a cape, tights and knee-high boots.

This is what I do know: neither identity is a secret.

So when Dave Doolin wrote that we need to find our entrepreneurial Quartermains, Mina Harkers and M’s to form a League of Extraordinary Bloggers, and then asked who was (or was not) in secret blog alliances, I wondered:

Do these alliances have to be secret?

I’m out there with my people and my passions.

I promote my friends’ products (if they’re good, and they fit) – and I buy them, too. I comment on their blogs (sometimes). I retweet their posts, talk about them, shout them out, quote them, link to them, and buy advertising on their sites. I love them and I spread the love.

I’m not terribly quiet or discreet about any of this and I might be missing why I should be.

I’ll say, 

He’s my friend, and not only that, he’s ridiculously smart and you should definitely buy his e-books and whitepapers and pay him to teach you about Blog Post Engineering. He helped me. He will help you, too.

(I might be talking about Dave. Go on – buy his stuff and his time. You won’t be sorry.)

And I’m willing to bet that kind of recommendation weighs more than any other kind.

In fact, I know it.

In November I had lunch with some heavy-hitting social media women and Lianne Raymond said something that landed with me.

Lianne said that because she liked Danielle LaPorte’s site, perspective, and aesthetic, she was always interested in what and who Danielle liked.

Danielle’s recommendation was the cool-woman-seal-of-approval.

That’s how Lianne and I found each other – Danielle was our common point – and now one of my pieces is in Lianne’s new e-book. More importantly, I have a new friend to adore.

And that’s what all this tweeting and blah-blah-blogging is about: we’re building communities and connections around shared ideas and complementary personalities.

If you like me and my world-view, you’ll probably like my friends. You might like the books I recommend. You might find the info-products I buy useful, too. So I’ll tell you who and what I like and I hope you’ll do the same for me.

Groups of like-minded people who lift each other up aren’t new or clandestine.

Isn’t that what we do offline – in business and in life?

Secrets are way too hard to keep (please, don’t tell me yours because I’ll accidentally blog it) and they aren’t safe with social media. The Internet is just a fancy way to gossip.

If you really want to know I’m in cahoots/love with, it is easy to trace the links. Watch my twitter stream and read my blog comments.

Just like Superman, wannabe blog-heroes are changing clothes in the phone booth – which, FYI, is not the most private of places. Blog alliances are an open secret.

One more secret: when I’m chit-chatting with parents, teachers, non-blogging colleagues and potential suitors, I say “I’m a writer” and let Google fill in the blanks.

Then, second meetings are always interesting – for both parties. I find out who was intrigued enough to Google me (which tells me a LOT) and they get to ogle my online moxy and my boots.

Because in my extraordinarily ordinary world(s), tights and knee-high boots are appropriate for any occasion.

Capes and cabals? That’s your call.

Kelly Diels plots World Domination from her secret lair in the wild suburbs outlying Vancouver. She Is A Force Of Nature. Visit her blog Cleavage for the best writing on sex, money and meaning.

Apropos of absolutely nothing at all, did you know: when you’re counting your shoes, boots don’t count. Isn’t that cool? – Dr WordPress