Before Google Reader I would visits websites and blogs on a daily basis to get the latest news on whatever interests I most wanted to read about that day.  If I came upon an article or site that I wanted to save for later I would either bookmark it or add it to my del.icio.us bookmarks.  And if I wanted to share it with a friend I’d send it via e-mail, IM, or through another social website, but with the introduction of Google Reader that has all changed.

I realized the other day that the features available in Google Reader have changed my internet habits in such a way that I am now using fewer outside sites or services to read my feeds, share articles, bookmark articles, and comment on things people are sharing.  Google Reader has for the most part become a one stop shop for me, which is great for me, but could have a negative impact on the sites I read.

Google Reader: My One Stop Shop

First off Google Reader allows me to read blog updates directly in reader, assuming that the feed is displaying the complete article.  As long as the complete article is being shared via RSS I never have to actually visit any of the sites which I regularly read.

Second I find myself using social bookmarking sites like del.icio.us a lot less than I did in the past.  Instead I can simply star the article in Google Reader and reference it from my starred items at a later time.  I’ll admit this isn’t as organized as something like del.icio.us, but being able to search my starred features makes retrieving things fairly simple.

Third I find myself sharing fewer blog posts through social outlets like Twitter, because I can share with my friends interesting articles directly through my shared items on Google Reader.  Not only can I share with them, I can also add comments about the article that aren’t limited to a 140 characters.  That’s not to say that I’m not sharing articles through other sources, but I am finding that only articles of the highest quality are getting this extra attention.  Articles I feel are informative and useful to people, but aren’t really anything over the top incredible will most likely make it through with just a share in Google Reader.

Lastly Google Reader has moved some of my interactions and conversations about articles away from sites like Twitter and into the new Google Reader comment feature.  This was a feature that I have wanted from a long time, mostly because if someone shares something I find useful or interesting I want to thank them for it, or sometimes give them my thoughts on it.  The ability to comment directly to the person who shared the item in Google Reader is quick and efficient and it doesn’t require me to login or open another service just to comment on the item shared with me.

For me the ability to do all of this in one place is a blessing.  It’s much more efficient and it still allows me to store and share information I find useful.  However I feel that this comes as a disadvantage to some of the blogs I read.  I’m not going to sites anymore, which means I am not seeing advertisements.  I’m not storing articles on sites like del.icio.us as much as I have in the past and therefore not passing the value of a network like del.icio.us in terms of links and traffic.

Similarly I am not sharing sites the way I used to.  Sites I have to physically visit to read an article will more often than not get a Digg, Stumble, Mixx, or the like because from the site I can use my Shareaholic toolbar to quickly spread the item.  I understand that I could consciously do this regardless of whether or not I read the article in reader or not, but for some reason it just doesn’t click for me to do this all the time.

Finally my means of conversation about articles has changed drastically, which greatly reduces the number of people who see my comments about a certain article.  Commenting about or sharing comments on articles through means of Twitter and other social websites allow for a great number of people to potentially pick up on the conversation.  On Twitter I have 496 followers that could pick up on the story and potentially share it, link to it, bookmark it, etc.  In reader I am sharing with 18 people, which is a significant decrease in the number of people which see my shared article.

The Remedy

As a blogger or webmaster this is something to consider when it comes to your RSS feeds.  I’m sure I’m not the only person doing this, meaning you are potentially missing out on some great opportunities.  To remedy some of these issues I would suggest the following:

1. Don’t provide your complete article via RSS.
2. Plug ads into your RSS feeds for those who don’t come to your physical site.
3. Develop reader call to action. Ask for feedback or peoples’ thoughts at the closing of your posts to entice readers to comment on the post. Commenter’s will be required to visit your site to share their insight.

These are just some ways in which you might improve your visitor traffic and better visitor interaction, but I’m sure there are other opportunities out there.

What are your thoughts? Do you use Google Reader or a similar feed reader?  Have you found that it changes the way you interact with some of your favorite blogs and websites?  I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Just when I thought I was going to be able to branch away from Twilight for a few weeks to focus on search marketing someone had to go and mess things up.  Actually this didn’t really mess things up, in fact it thrilled me, because now I’m not the only internet marketer who is talking about Twilight on his blog.  Granted the post I came across is industry related, but that’s irrelevant.

I was skimming through the reader tonight and I came across a post called Listening to Vampire Lovers by Social Media PR guru Danny Brown.  When I saw the excerpt in the reader and saw the word Twilight in the first sentence I knew that the post was a must read.  In the post Danny compares the success of the Twilight film and the change and controversy surrounding the film’s sequel to businesses exploring new ventures and alienating their existing customer base while trying to find new ones.

It’s a good post with some solid information on why change is good for your business, but only if you can do it in such a way that isn’t going to exclude anyone in your customer base.

First off, let me start out by saying I am in no way an expert at reputation management; nor have I spent hours researching the subject. With that said, there’s a chance that perhaps what I am about to say has been said before; if it has, then kudos to those whom blazed the trail before me. I am writing this based off of personal experience and observation. I’m not saying I’m right or wrong, just acknowledging what I’ve observed. If you feel the need to hear the gospel of reputation management from an expert, this is probably where you leave. For the rest of you, I hope you find some value in this as I know that I have.

When I think of reputation management the first thing that comes to mind is what others are saying about a person or their business. What clients are saying, what competitors are saying, and what other media sources are saying. But what most people probably don’t consider, is what it is they are saying about themselves online.

If you have friended or followed me on any of the various social profiles I manage, you probably know that I am a very candid person. I’m not sugar coated, I’m not filtered, and I don’t mind cracking jokes; even if they are at someone else’s expense. The fact of the matter is, I am who I am. I do this because even though I want people to see me as a professional, I also want them to see who I am as a person.

With social media becoming such a vital part of small business it’s important to properly represent yourself. You never know who may be looking at your business or profile; potential clients, potential partnerships, perhaps potential employees. If you portray yourself in your various social outlets as the serious sophisticated corporate type, yet you run your business in a casual mom and pop fashion you are already starting off your online relationships on the wrong foot. You are giving people a false sense of who it is they are dealing with. You would never market yourself as an orange salesman if you were selling apples, so why pretend to be what you’re not? Sure by showing your true colors you may scare off some of the higher end prospects, but in doing so you are capturing those who are most interested in what it is that you actually have to offer.

The value in this is that you in turn capture those who will work best with your business model and your personality. In my personal experience this has lead to some incredible collaborative efforts between me and my clients. Furthermore, it makes the overall process more comfortable for both parties. Your business relationships are much like your personal relationships, and if you can’t start out on a common ground there’s bound to be some bumps in the road.

In the end the most valuable take away from being yourself is that you know that the people you are interacting with are doing so because of who you are, not because of who you are pretending to be. By faking it you risk others seeing through your fake personality, and if you fall victim to your own faults, you risk tarnishing your online reputation and your business. Even more harmful would be exposing you’re a fraud in your face to face interactions. I know that I have developed opinions and ideas about certain people I interact with on social sites, and I know that I would be disappointed if at some point I met them in person and their online personality turned out to be nothing more than a façade.

One final thing to realize is that while being yourself you still need to keep a sense of professionalism. A lot of us use social media both professionally and personally, so there will be times when the two may cross paths and sometimes may even cross the line of appropriate. Rest assured this probably isn’t the end of the world. I have dropped my share of F-bombs and bad jokes on Twitter and Plurk and have still managed to maintain what online presence I do have. But it is still always something you need to be aware of.

Managing your reputation is an important aspect of running your business, but no one can destroy your reputation more than yourself. It doesn’t matter if all of your clients have given you high marks on their blogs and websites. If you misrepresent yourself their words are useless. People will take their personal experiences and opinions into consideration long before the ideas and opinions of others.