So I checked my e-mail this morning and I had nine notices of trackbacks.  "Ooh... my site is catching on, look at this."  Nope...  TRACKBACK SPAM.   The trackbacks were total gibberish.  So I added them to my blocked list and then deleted them.

Here's a question.  I labeled them all "trackback spam" and then put them on my blocked list, but does any other user of Typepad benefit from that?  I'm sure I wasn't the only one trackback spammed last night from those addresses and I'm sure most users will block the address after they clean their site.  Why shouldn't we collectively benefit from all that labeling?  SixApart should partner with Cloudmark, which has this "community" concept to help block e-mail spam, to offer some kind of trackback screen.  If enough Typepad/MT users block an IP address and call it spam for trackbacks, every other user who signs up would get the benefit of that block.  I'd pay for that in a second, because if this trackback spam gets as bad as e-mail spam got at its peak, I'd probably quit blogging.

Martin at Ignition had a similar problem on MT, but admittedly, the volumes of spam he got were much worse.  His comments were on point, though.  Even though I only had nine, it was way too cumbersome to delete, label, and block these goofballs.  I'm surprised he didn't mention a possible Cloudmark solution, since Cloudmark is Ignition's company. 

As I prepare for my upcoming Learning Annex gig on March 16th and I start working with NYSSA on an finance/investment related blogging seminar, on top of the new book idea, I'm realizing that I need a better vehicle to organize my thoughts (and promote them) in regards to blogging as a career tool.  Therefore, I've decided to spin off my existing posts on blogging as a career tool into a blog called Success Blogging.  I already got the domain name and I'm working on connecting it to my existing TypePad account.  On this new blog, I'll be posting about my thoughts related to the book, as well as all of the information and content that gets produced related to events that I am working on.  I'm excited to start a new blog with a definite theme and purpose, and I'm also happy that the complete randomness of my personal blog, "This is Going to Be Big..." can now be legitimately excused.  I haven't decided whether or not I'll be parallel posting across both blogs, but rest assured, when the new site is up and running and has new posts, I'll let you know on here. 

Link: Six Log: Recognition for our founders.

Contratulations to the Six Apart team that runs Typepad, the service both my blogs run on.  They just got selected as PC Magazine's People of the Year along with the Blogger founders.   I can't wait to bid for their public shares Dutch auction style in 2006.  :)   Have a great holiday.... its been very exciting to watch this success story unfold.  2004: Year of the Blog.

I'm listening to Anil from Six Apart and Jim Coudal on the Blogging for Business conference call among some others.  There are 163 people on the call at this moment.   The number of curious people on the sidelines is enormous (maybe good tailwind for my Learning Annex class on Blogging for Success... which is on March 16th, btw... details to come soon, but save the date!).

Its interesting to see businesses feel out exactly how they are going to use blogs...   since this medium originally developed around individuals and bubbled up as oppossed to trickling down from the big guys.

"... Blogs are an opportunity to demonstrate authority on a subject in a very personal way... blogs have personality." - Jim

Anil made a good point about blogs are transparency and how transparency helps build brand...

What really strikes me, as Anil is discussing it, is how positive a medium blogging is turning out to be.  Instances of positive commentary, trading links, creating interesting discussion, etc. seems to completely dwarf negative instances of commentary, personal criticism, content spamming, etc.   I think part of that comes from the fact that the medium tends to focus more on bringing like minded people together.  Chances are, if you're reading a blog, you're already interested in a topic and have a similar perspective as the writer. 

Content is definately king...   "Blogs without good content are like a guitar in the hands of someone who can't play."  - Jim

I got my RSS analogy into the meeting comments...  "If web content is pizza, then HTML is like sitting down to eat it in the pizzeria, and RSS is like getting a pie "to go".  "That's gold, Jerry...   GOLD!"

Thanks guys...     Great job.

So now I get to find out how few people are reading my site... or how few of those people are are technically savvy enough to be reading it through an RSS reader.  :)   The little orange button on the left is my new feedburner feed.  Or, if you don't read the site through an RSS reader, you can always subscribe by e-mail on the right.

Link: Six Apart Professional Network: Helping your career with blogs.

When I was a senior at Fordham, me and my roommates played on an intramural softball team with half of the varsity basketball team.  One game, I hit a walkoff homer to win a game, and the whole team, including the guys from the varsity basketball team lined up along the thirdbaseline to slap me five.  Jason Harris, TJ... they were lined up to congratulate me... after all those games I showed up with my face painted to cheer them on.  Ok, so they were linking b/c their founder was featured in the article, and I'm not wearing facepaint, but nonetheless, the fact that the article was linked to on the Six Apart (the company that hosts this very blog) website... well...   it leaves me stupidly giddy, that's all.  In fact, I'm in such a good mood because of everything...  the article, the picture, the invite to the Learning Annex, the fact that the ubercool folks who are right at the heart of blogging are reading articles from a Long Island newspaper on some goofball blogging analyst...  I hardly even noticed the jury duty questionaire that came in the mail.  In fact, I'm more than happy to fill it out.  Call me for jury duty.  Sequestor me.  Give it your best shot.  You're not wiping the smile off my face, punks.  I think I'm going to go eat a pomegranate. 

Link: DrWeb's Domain: Newsday.com - Blogging Bluepoint.

I think this guy was just pointing out what blogs were and their growing popularity... but my favorite part is that he identifies himself as a "guybrarian."  (male librarian)   That's hilarious.

Cover of the Careers section of today's Newsday. 

This is going to be big.

Its an ok picture... I'm not particularly photogenic.  The setting is a bit random...  I mean, like, why am I walking around Madison Avenue with my laptop?  :)    In hindsight, I probably should have had the Find My Path site up on the laptop, not my site.  Already, two people have sought out my site by typeing in "This is going to be big.  I can feel it" in Google.  Now that's interesting.