See How Easily You Can Get a Response out of People: Skribit Shows you How!

Wouldn't you just love it if people TOLD you what they wanted?

Okay, we get it. Forums require registration. Emails require firing up whatever program or website you use for emailing. Telling someone in person requires . . . well, being in person. Even commenting on a blog requires providing some personal information, going past a captcha, and who knows what else. When you don't feel like doing all of that, these are nothing more than communication hurdles.

Skribit takes a Howitzer to those hurdles.

Skribit is the little-known brainchild of Startup Weekend Atlanta (with people like Paul Stamatiou behind the wheel), and is a blog widget that sits in your sidebar. You can see mine if you look down and to the right a bit — assuming you're actually on the blog's page, of course.

What is it: It's a pain-free way for readers (like you) to suggest new topics for this blog. It supports anonymous posting, so no account is necessary, and once a topic is in there, other people can vote to support it. The more support something has, the more I know people want to see that topic. We're not talking excessively detailed suggestions though - a quick phrase or two is enough.

Why you need it: If people don't see a topic they like on your blog (or have a slightly different one in mind), they can suggest it for future discussion later. It's a great way to "read the reader's minds" and get a pulse for what people are really coming to hear. From a webcomic perspective, you can use it to suggest new gag-a-day's or get a feel for what readers want to see next!

How to use it:

• Click on "Click here to suggest a topic" to give a brief idea of what you want, and a 140-characters-or-less description of what it is.
  
• Click on an already-suggested topic to see more information about that topic.
  (it takes you away from the current page though...)
  
• Click on "Vote" if you like what you see.

You don't need to be registered with Skribit (though we dare say it helps).

How to get it: Go register over on Skribit, give them a little info about your blog, and plug the widget in, then wait to see what others suggest.

5 Reasons to Love Web 2.0

A big thing I encourage when it comes to marketing tactics is to use the routes that your competition doesn't. This often gets confused for viral/guerrilla marketing, but mostly it's just inventing new ways to reach out to your audience. A lot of the time, this means using some of the new 'in' technologies of web 2.0, and here's why:

1. New utilities mean the Older competition won't use them.
   Well, why would they? They're already popular, and a contented brand doesn't push as hard as a new one struggling to get the word out. Of course, they get more bang for their effort, so it's a trade off, but at least that's a few less people you have to worry about for your competition.
   
2. New utilities are ravenous content-vores; at worst, it'll be digested quickly and forgotten faster.
   Unlike LiveJournal and other forum-type software where all your most embarrassing moments will remain displayed for eternity unless you make a concerted effort (or end up mistaken for a pedophile), bad content on 2.0 gets buried quickly under mounds of new content, if it shows up at all. Thankfully this means that unless you fail so hard it becomes infamous, you have a good chance to change your behavior and try again without much effort.
   
3. The best ones are also super-easy to update, which allows you to be more regular.
   Twitter's a prime example: 140-characters-or-less posts, doable by SMS, IM, or through your computer. Basically, when you're just standing in line somewhere, you now have time to fire off a quick post. I use mine for keeping people posted on my buffer, witty one-liners, or other things I might forget later.
   
4. They make you look more accessible, and accessibility is king.
   Artists tend to become more reclusive as they get bigger, which is fine for us since it means that the more accessible you are, the more likely they'll come to you even when you're not their favorite, but they still like you.
   
5. You're putting out lots and lots of content for later.
   The people who will be real fans of your work will want to swarm over every single detail you already have out there; yes, it's stalker-ish, but it's true. You may as well let them get lost in your own content so they remain enamoured longer (and also to keep them satiated before they start clamoring for more)

So go ahead and try some new technologies and sites. Worst case, you wasted a little time, but in the best case, you're tapping into a whole new market.