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In link love his week you’ll find a focus on all things comment and inspiration related, specifically inspiration with a writng slant though you’ll probably find the advice useful regardless of what your creative poison is. I hope you’ll enjoy my picks for this week. 12 Vital Tips and Tools to Combat Comment Spam in WordPress This is a comprehensive guide to managing spam on your Wordpress blog. If like me you dread logging into your admin screen and wading through your spam section knee deep in viagra and nude celebrities then this is the post for you. It’s filled with great practical tips and tools that you can get started with straight away, written in plain english and very thorough while still being easy to read.   It Isn’t Enough… A quick reminder, from Josh over at the world’s strongest librarian, about going big. It’s not enough to just excel in one area. We are all the sum of all our experiences this is a quick reminder that perhaps some of those things we’re proud of are really holding us back. Free Speech in Online Communities: The Delusion of Entitlement Steve Pavlina has a very enjoyable rant about those gentleman and ladies who believe freedom of speech is idiot insurance. You know the guys who show up in your blog or forum and think that they can have a go at everyone behind the cover of freedom of speech. Take some time and let Steve explain to you why right of admission needs to be reserved.   Why You Should Stop Waiting for Inspiration An excellent post on Write to done about just getting stuck in. We all have those days where we just seem to have no fuel left in the tank. We just can’t get down to the work of writing. This is a nice reminder that if you want to be a writer all you need to do is write. Hit one key then the next, then the next …   Slaying Writer Dragons: Epic Skill #1, Mental Prowess You will defeat the bunny. I stand under correction but this may be the first time in recorded blogging history that these words have been uttered in the blogosphere. Men with Pens have a look at how to reduce your mental clutter and increase the quality your down time and ways of using it to supercharge your writing. Things I wish I knew and did when first started blogging This post is by Robert Bravery a fellow South African. All the bloggers out there will tell you how painful those first few months of blogging are, not too mention how hard it is when once you’ve started it you hit that hump. This a great comprehensive look at the nuts and bolts of starting out as a blogger and keeping it ticking over once you’ve begun. A nice checklist for those starting out or those who may have lost there way.

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Twenty posts in and it still astounds me how hard it is for me to put my name to my writing and send it into the world. I’ve spent a lot of the last few months on my craft, working out what words best describe that voice that lurks at the back of my mind the voice that is the source of my questions and the spark for my writing. I’d like to think my writing is not just that voice but a combination of that and something more. The compulsion is what intrigues me. The compulsion to find a soap box and let go of the ideas knocking about in this not so old head. Time for me is like a sitcom that can only be enjoyed in context. Friends is one of my favourite shows of all time but 10 years earlier it would have made no sense and 10 years later it’s already losing relevance. Looking at my writing I have similar feeling each day that passes between an idea and the release of that idea on paper or a screen it becomes less relevant, less real. Until the idea like grapes left to long on the vine spoil and ferment leaving nothing but regret at a seasons work wasted for a few days laziness. Time is now, everything else is dreaming or remembering. There is no time in the future and all the time in the past has been used up. Go forth and kick ass, 20 posts in and I’m starting to feel it.

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Goals should be geared to creating life! More life, to be lived and enjoyed. The more I mull the goal setting and tracking and achieving paradigm the more I think that there is confusion between  goals and tasks. The road and the journey. Time and life.

If we are to look forward into our lives, we must not look up the rocky paths that are ahead of us, but rather lift our heads. Look ahead as the proverbial crow flies and look to our goals. That for me is what goals are about. They have to be the compass that guides us out of the wandering paths which split into path after path detour after detour. Goals are the kick in the nuts we need to remind us that the path is not the destination and why giving up is not an option.
Goal gym: Goal Big, work hard!
What does it help us to set these tiny goals? Why aim to get out of bed early if we aren’t planning to use the extra time to take over the world?

Pick Goals that make you feel!– If a goal doesn’t scare you, thrill you, make you smile like a fool it’s not going to fuel you. Goals only work if they light a fire under you. If you need to keep topping your goals up with interest, passion or excitement you’re destined to fail.
Pick Goals for yourself! – Only you are accountable to your goals so go large or go home, when you pick goals for yourself you’ll  feel the lid lift on what you’re capable of doing.
Send your goals out into the world – When you go and goal big you need to stay accountable, make your goals a living statement of your life. Blog about it, put up posters notes tattoo your goal above your navel. Turn other people on with your passion!
Turn your world into a “Goal gym” – Surround yourself with the tools you need to leverage your reality into your goals. Work out on them often. There are finite steps between where you are and where you want to be. Start walking now!
Go big but keep your number of goals down – This is the big one. Do choose big nasty scary goals. However do choose fewer goals. If you are going to pour your heart, soul and more into your goals you can’t spread yourself thin. Go big on the important goals and the rest will see to itself.

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As it happens I have an alter ego who writes at mydl, which is the geekronym for My digital life a South African digital lifestyle blogging site which I contribute to. The last week has been extremely emotionally charged with many of those problems that we South Africans tend to avoid bubbling to the surface.  For those not living within our lovely border , shame on you!! Ok now that I’ve got that out of my system essentially what’s happened is Canada has granted political asylum to Brandon Huntley, a South African national living in Canada illegally. See more in my post Canadians must not be very clever just ask Brandon Huntley
The Issues in a Nutshell

Brandon Huntley is a white South African
Brandon Huntley claims to have been the victim of violent crime at the hands of black criminals on seven occasions, but never reported any of these crimes to the South African police
The Canadian panel hears Brandon Huntley’s representations and finds:

Brandon Huntley is being persecuted in his home country because of his race
The government in South Africa is unable and unwilling to protect white South Africans like Brandon Huntley
Brandon Huntley would not be safe returning to South Africa because “ no matter where he went in South Africa he would stick out like a sore thumb”

For more on this see the link above to my post on mydl. What I’m here to discuss is the manner in which this story brought to the surface a number of issues which we as a country have just been to damn polite to discuss.

Racism is still rife in South Africa
I think the most important lesson I’ve learnt this week is that racism is still alive and kicking in South Africa. The large number of hateful and absurdly ignorant comments that flew back and forth this week really knocked the stuffing out of me until I realized, Brandon Huntley might just be the savior of our democracy. Brandon Huntley and he’s sneaky underhanded attempt to remain in Canada has started a dialog that should have begun 15 years ago. We need to release the pressure bubbling below the lid of political correctness and give space for expression of ideas we dislike and disapprove of. Brandon Huntley and his cheap trick which is now under judicial review in Canada has given a voice to racism and I’m actually happy to hear it.
Lessons on Managing comment flaming
For me everyday on mydl is a learning experience and never more so than this week past. Some of the best lessons which I think apply to any kind comment flaming on blogs or in normal social :

Shut up, the more distasteful the comment the more closely you should listen, when you start listening you open the door for understanding always remember discussions via comments are public affairs
Ask questions, make sure you understand the other persons point of view once they’ve stated it
Be respectful, anyone can shout and scream and use profanity, when you do it you take away from your credibility and alienate your audience
I mention this seperately because well it happens a lot don’t call people names Once you’ve called someone idiotic it’s unlikely they’re going to listen you again no matter how compelling your argument.
Pause, try not to reply while your emotions are running high take some time and reply when you’re calm
Do reply thoroughly citing references where possible
Do acknowledge when people with differing opinons to you make compelling arguments
Don’t be afraid to quit while you’re ahead or even if you’re behind, some arguments simply become childish mud slinging matches. Don’t let your ego rule you, remember why the discussion started and if the discussion has become trivial walk away, continuing will only take away from your brand.
Over and above all that forget about winnng! It’s not a game state your case and move on.

Some very tasty comment discussions and lots of lessons on how not to handle comments:

Stop thinking like Hitler
Crime is because of Apartheid
The white Racist thanks you
Canadian refugee Brandon Huntley and the deafening silence of the opposition

People want change in their lives. We all want to achieve our goals and feel that focus in our daily lives. We all want to live longer happier richer goal focused lives. We all feel that need to fulfill that purpose that only you and I were placed on this earth to perform.
Goal Disposal
During the course of every single day, you and I each have 24 hours at our disposal and most of us do dispose of it! We send the carcass of each day off with meat still hanging off the bones. The next morning we wake up, moaning and groaning that yesterday just wasn’t satisfying. To quote Moose of that lovable Archie and his gang, “Duh!”. If you have 24 hours and you use none of them to get closer to your goals, your passion or that burning desire which drives you, guess what, you’re not going to get any closer to it. Get rid of all hope. Abandon all your dreams you are stuck with your current life for better or worse.

Try is nothing
‘Try is nothing, do or do not’ was originally uttered by that great philosopher Yoda and it’s wisdom has stuck with me for as long as I’ve started trying to accumulate wisdom. Now I put this up as my Gtalk status recently and got some nasty nasty comments. This mentality that trying is enough I find quite amusing. Try to my mind is a utterly and depressingly disempowering word. Try unpacks the power of my action and unloads it at the doorstep of fate and fortune. Try is self-defeating it allows the possibility of failure in. It’s a weak verb that sparks weak action.
Do or Do not
The most important reason for me, try is not enough! Unlike conventional wisdom suggests it’s not good enough to try. Trying to be a blogger is not the same as being a blogger. Trying to spend within your budget is not the same as staying within your budget. Only in our minds is trying enough. The real world doesn’t care that you’re trying to lose weight or trying to write a novel. We are judged by our actions. When we try something and it doesn’t work we need to try something else that’s what doing is about. Doing is knowing that trying is part of a process not the process. When we do we commit to do, we commit to the outcome of doing not the process.

When you focus on your goals do try everything you possibly can and don’t stop till you Do achieve your goal

I’m not in the business of writing about writing content but I came across a very interesting article written by one of my many many blog readers this evening, If you want more traffic for your blog, you have to give more traffic. This was really enjoyable post which reminded me again, as I slog away behind my laptop that I’m not in this on my own, every time I hit a key I’m paying my dues in one of the toughest and fastest growing communities on earth. Neat hey?

So what are you on about?
My blogging started with me skulking around blogs I enjoyed, like The Simple Dollar, Problogger, Zen habits and Lifehacker. Looking back at these blogs now I realize how much the “voice” of each blogger when writing content contributed to the type of community that turned up day after day to interact with the content. Over and above this these guys were and are authorities in their niche. It helps I suppose that these are all professional bloggers, able to spend their time “researching.” With an advantage like this how screwed are the rest of us writing content? What chance do we have against full time web trawlers in their niche? Surprisingly we have an excellent chance they’re just giving all their knowledge away. They’re happy to add to the value of your blog.
Don’t leave anything on the table
A-list bloggers have figured out the trick to this blogging game there’s one rule. Yes only one, no neat bulleted list or catchy system for success just one rule. Add value. Add value to your reader. Add value to your community. A-list bloggers leave nothing on the table. They’ll tell you everything they know if you’ll listen.
Spend time finding questions
This might seem dumb, what value are questions? Now imagine writing a post where more than 50% of your readers sign up to your RSS feed or E-mail updates. Sound impossible?  Not really, if you know what questions your readers are asking to end up on your site then you’re well on your way. Answers are easy to find.   No matter how knowledgeable you may be, until your content asks and answers specific and relevant questions you’re going to struggle to become an authority as your readers trawl through your unrelated content (or more likely give up and look elsewhere)
Get by with a little help from your friends
Now to neatly come back full circle to that post that started it all. Blogging is about synergy not SEO or advertising. Blogging is a dialogue. Build a following, send them to sources of information that will be useful to them, add value and they’ll be your friends forever. Build a relationship with bloggers in your niche and you’ll save yourself a heap of pain trying to reinvent the wheel.

You’ll have someone to have a laugh with when the frustration of this blog game becomes a bit too much.
A sounding board when your ideas wander out into unchartered territory.
A marketing department(following included) when you add value.
Some friendly competition to push you out of your comfort zone
Some role models in the form of sites that have been there and done that
An inexhaustible supply of reader questions

The key to all of this though is sincerity. Just like in real life, people can only be manipulated so much. If you want true synergy you need to give without motive. Give because you can. You’ll get screwed over now and then. Even if you make one great blogging acquaintance out of every 100 interactions you make, you’re probably doing something right.
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