DISQUS

Just about two weeks ago, I shared my magic formula consisting of three ingredients that has increased the comments on my blog:
- dialog (answer as many comments as possible)
- plugins (subscribe to comments, commentluv, keywordluv, etc.)
- return the favor (get out and comment)

There were a couple of bonus "ingredients" as well that included reaching out to other bloggers via links and asking your readers questions.

These steps have helped me build a growing community of people and I have a few more to implement from your list now.

As I read through your list, I could not help but sit here nodding my head regarding a few of these items. When I participated in Movember this past year, I got my hands on some Canadian Club and have been enjoying that myself and have the "Career Renegade" book you mentioned on my reading list now (although I don't get through two books per week like you do).

With the bags, let me suggest you take a look at the Checkpoint Flyer from Tom Bihn. This bag is great if you travel as it meets TSA guidelines so that you don't need to remove your laptop, simply unfold the bag and you're good. I was fortunate enough to review one of these bags and it has become my daily use bag.

As for the iPhone, I cannot bring myself to go back to AT&T service so that is not an option. The Blackberry and the new G1 I picked up are serving me quite well.

I've got a few books of this type on my desk right now and haven't made it through any of them. As others have noted, too many of these books fail to deliver (which is why I always get them from the library now).

Now, I'd be happy to take one of the half-dozen you're going to buy and hand out. ;)

That is good to know, Outliers just moved up another spot on my reading list. =)

Yeah, I was encouraged by the prospects of this plugin - unfortunately my application to the eBay affiliate/partner program was denied.

Along with a copy of blink, I received this as a Christmas gift and haven't started reading it yet. Based on your feedback, I think I will move it up on the reading list though. Thanks for sharing.

Nice list of dads, I've updated my list to include those that were missing as well. My list now stands at 265 dads and I keep adding more as I find them (or they find me).

Tyler, saw your post on the DIYThemes forum about your use of the theme and had to come check it out. I've just recently purchased the theme myself and used it redesign one of my sites.

I like what you have done with it so far.

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I've come close to buying the Thesis theme so many times and am now kicking myself for not taking advantage of the Black Friday discount. The redesign looks great.

But dang, the Thesis affiliate link to word count ratio in this post is insane, lol.

Jason, congratulations on the new position! Enjoy the new challenges and the best to you. I'll be keeping an eye on the cool things that you will be doing for when the day comes that I land a similar position.

While watching the local news this evening, I made a comment to my wife that is quite similar to what you have expressed here. Where does the line end with companies expecting a bailout from the government? These certainly are strange times, and unfortunately I have a feeling we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg right now.

Wow, I feel a lot of parallels to the situation Bob happens to be in; except for the fact that my company doesn't have anyone focusing on social media. When I approached my boss with an interest in introducing the concepts to the company, the response I received was that "all that web 2.0 stuff will just be outsourced". Doh!

Good luck Bob, I feel your pain and have also been moved to a position that does not utilize my talents yet I am trying to give it my best and learn new skills.

I like the links (fresh, popular, pilgrim picks) on the sidebar as that gives easy access to a wealth of information. While I like the prominence of the search box in the header, the look of it just doesn't strike me; it feels like the typing area should be bigger or wrap, or the search button is out of place.

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Vanessa, thank you to you and your team for including The Man Page among the 50 Best Dad Blogs. It is quite an honor to be included among so many other great blogs.

Correct, I did eventually get in and have made a little money thus far. Still have a lot to learn myself.

This sounds like an exciting opportunity and I have just submitted an application via the Ford Careers website. Thanks for mentioning the opening here on your blog.

Thanks for including The Man Page among this collection of great resources!

As the creator of the twittering dads list, I'd just like to say that if your dad (or if you are a dad) joins twitter, send me a tweet or comment on the post in order to be added to the list. It is a great way to find and connect with like-minded people.

@dereksemmler

That is great to see that you came across this video and thought that it might be an activity that your daughter would enjoy. My son has been into the hip-hop dance for a couple of years now, his current teacher was just recently voted off the MTV show "America's Next Best Dance Crew" so that was kind of cool. My wife keeps telling me that I need to talk to the owner of the dance studio as their website is really lacking and could be so much more value for current customers and more enticing for future customers.

My wife is in the group of people that regularly type a company name into the search box rather than entering the URL in the address bar. When I saw her do this for the first time, I questioned her about it and she said that she just finds it easier to type in "Amazon" or whatever and click the resulting link than to enter the full URL in the address bar.

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Tyler, I think the new design looks great. Typically I am not a big fan of the magazine style themes but they seem to be gaining in popularity.

As others have mentioned, it is nice, clean and crisp. Good work on the redesign.

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Congrats on the new setup! I've had my eye on a new HDTV as well but just cannot bring myself to spend the money when I still have a TV that functions just fine. We do have a smaller HDTV upstairs that gives me a taste of what to expect, although as you mentioned also makes me not so eager when I view a standard definition channel.

Enjoy the new TV and don't be shy about inviting the neighborhood guys over to share in your new toys.

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Tony and Jeremy, great interview! It is interesting to see that Tony isn't too far from me geographically, as I work in the northern suburbs of Chicago.

Tony, at least you didn't say you were a Cubs fan! ;)

Brett, just wanted to say thanks again for including me in the list of host blogs. It was a lot of fun and I look forward to doing it again.

As an FYI, there seem to be some issues with Blog Carnival as it appears the Manival submission form and carnival page are no longer active/available.

As someone that has been trying to work on this very thing recently, I loved this post. Attending SOBCon this year was a great, although somewhat awkward, experience for me. As Steve mentioned earlier, I tend to be very reserved as I question what I have to offer to the people that I am meeting.

Practice really does help though, as I felt much more comfortable at a recent Tweetup that I attended. I'm looking for more opportunities to practice and it has actually been fun.

Chris, at SOBCon you had commented that you had been staring at the back of my head for the better part of the day. The next time I have the opportunity to meet you, I will give these tips a try and actually introduce myself to you, lol.