Nature Blog Network

There are many answers to the question, “Why do you blog?” – perhaps as many as there are bloggers. Blogging can be an outlet for artistic expression or creative writing or both; it can be a contribution to the greater good; it can be a way of building community and finding like-minded thinkers; it can allow us to share a interest or hobby; and in some cases, it can be a way of making money.

While some of us blog for ourselves, most of us need feedback. Feedback may come as appreciation of our work, agreement with and support for our causes, friendship and community, exchange of information, tips, or leads, paying customers, or some combination of these.

Within the Nature Blog Network, we have our interest in plants, animals, or the great outdoors in common with each other. In general, we love nature and want to conserve and foster it, study it, and help others enjoy it as much as we do. We’re here, part of the network, because nature is important to us, blogging is one aspect of how we have chosen to act on our interest, and we want to be part of a community.

As members of a community, when we help each other achieve our goals, we help the community as a whole as well as the individuals. This doesn’t have to demand a lot of time and effort. It’s as simple as watching out for each other, sharing information, making connections, and promoting each other – the same things that you do as part of in-person networking. Helping readers find good blogs, and good blogs find readers, helps us all.

So what specific steps can you take to help your colleagues?

• List your favorite blogs in your blogroll, and keep the links up to date
• Link to the NBN and to your favorite blog carnivals and memes
• Invite other nature bloggers to join the NBN and to participate in one or more of the carnivals or memes that focus on nature
• Mention carnival deadlines and new editions in your posts
• Link to individual posts and images you like, give them a mention on your blog
• Support, help, and promote new bloggers by mentioning them, linking to them, and helping them figure things out
• Participate in blog carnivals
• Host a blog carnival
• Promote nature blog carnivals to others
• Visit other blogs and leave comments
• Respond to comments on your blog, and return visits
• Promote your fellow nature bloggers when you have the chance
• Use social networking sites such as StumbleUpon, DIGG, and Technorati to bring nature blogs to wider attention, and vote up your colleagues’ posts when you see them on these sites
• If you twitter, mention interesting nature blog posts and photos
• Connect with other nature bloggers near you and work together on community-based interests or projects
• Mention books, artwork, speaking engagements, radio interviews, or TV appearances by other nature bloggers
• If you’re on facebook, join the nature blogger group and the networked blogs community
• promote your blog and others with a page on facebook
• use your creativity and come up with more and better ideas and share them with all of us

You don’t have to do all of these, all the time, because any time you do any of them, it helps the community. It doesn’t have to be everyday or for every blog – any link or mention helps another blogger. Many of us are doing some or all of these things already. Joining this network, displaying the NBN badge on your blog, and visiting your fellow nature bloggers’ blogs are easy first steps.

Mike has posted recently about participating in blog carnivals, and shared a list of several to visit, contribute to, and enjoy. In the upcoming weeks, we’ll be talking about others of the specific ideas listed above. Join the conversation, share your ideas, and we’ll all help each other.