In reading "Jump on My Triond Band Wagon" by Glynis Smy, I thought it would be nice to write a tribute to the writers that I have recommended for the wagon ride. Glynis' idea is to expose as many new writers to our Triond's community as possible. It is an excellent idea, is it not?

Here is my idea: if you have nominated your new friends for the wagon ride, write about them, and bring them out for the rest of the community to meet them.

Why you should do it:

• Pay it forward! Someone else will do the same for you.
• Be a true friend by supporting them
• We are not in competition with each other
• We all want views for our work
• We all want recognition
• We all want to meet new friends

Meet Terri Lane

Terri has been on Triond for a while, and she has an impressive collection of poems, plus a variety of articles on different subjects. Check out her work, and meet a new friend.

Meet Karelee

I have just recently met Karelee through messaging on Triond. It is wonderful to meet new writers from all over world. Visit her profile, and you will find a wide range of articles, and poems to enjoy.

She is new to Triond, and we should welcome her to our community.

Meet Denny Lyon

Denny Lyon is a very talented young woman. Her creativities are amazing. She incorporates her own photos into her articles. It is very refreshing to see a different way of presenting an article.

She is a woman after my own heart since she believes in pay it forward also. It seems kindness is always returned double.

Honorable Mention Writers for Their Generosity

This article is not complete without mentioning the generosity of some writers, who have selflessly promoting my articles and others' on different social bookmarking sites. These writers are: Anne Lyken Garner, Chan Lee Peng, Alexa Gates and Lanne.

These writers and I are not exchanging submission to social bookmarking sites; we do it out of sheer enjoyment for the article, and practice the act of kindness. I believe in pay it forward, therefore, from time to time, I do submit articles/photos from new users also.

Claris Fernandez

Claris is very generous in supporting not only me, but to all of her friends. She has an impressive collection of poems, and fantastic management articles. Check them out!

Geri O'Hara

Geri has a generous soul, who was kind enough to pass on my article to her family, and submitted it to her Xomba's site. Whether I receive views or not, her act of kindness has touched me deeply!

Be a friend, and check out her work!

Now, jump on the band wagon, write about your recommended friends, introduce them to our community, and give them the recognition that they deserve. Always remember to be generous, pay it forward, and do a random act of kindness!

The Growing Trends

I’d like everyone to take a moment and count the amount of friends you have in your friends sections, now I would like you to count how many of those friends actually read your work.

If you have a ratio of 10:120 then I’m sure you have the same types of concerns as many of the other writers.  However, it has come to my attention that many writers are leaving due to the lack of page views that they personally say was by no fault of their own.

Did they make the most of the platform that was presented to them? And if they did, did they personally market themselves outside of the realm of possibilities?

It may be time to update your friend’s area and start making it a bit easier to keep up with your most loyal readers in the community section. The answer I use is “delete, delete, delete” for the ones that have fallen off the radar or just don’t take the time to read others pieces.

Lets Link to Each Other: The Wrong way to do it

There are so many ways to grow your content besides the use of social bookmarking. Personally, I love linking to material that is both interesting and of course pertinent to my own.

It’s always nice to hyperlink one of your articles to a previous user or an older article with the same type or related content. Remember that linking to an article that has little to do with the article you are writing is a dreadful way to get more views.

If you look at the analytics of Google, when your page is indexed by search engines and the links are basically useless, the search engines see no reason to rank or crawl your pages.

Lets Link to Each Other: The Right Way

Recently, some of my best buddies on Triond and I started linking to each other based on our content.

Anytime Chris Stonecipher has a recipe or article that pertains to my material, he links it and I do the same for him in return. As far as I have seen, I have received more views and so has he.

Rummage through the lists of articles written by your Triond friends and see if you can’t do the same.

Do you want your voice Heard?

As writers, our main purpose is to educate and entertain however; my point goes back to the present state of Triond.  Are you trying to be recognized for your writing talents or the ability to write as many top 10 lists submitted in a day?

For the past month, I have stumbled upon some really amazing talents on Triond and my opinion is that their gifts are not being appreciated as they should be.

For that purpose, I set up a Blog called Friends Revolution to showcase the amazing talents of some of the best writers on Triond that may not be getting the recognition that they deserve.

A perfect example of one of these writers is Lost in Arizona who wrote a piece on the most memorable pictures taken of all time. How does this differ from the typical top ten lists you ask?

If you actually take the time to read the content instead of skimming over the pictures and leaving simple comments like “good post” or “good read”, you would realize that the emotional word painting conveyed in this article brought me to tears.

This was my exact comment at the time and my most honest opinion:

“All of these pictures really brought tears to my eyes. I was so enthralled with the photos and text that the music playing on my computer disappeared. I think this is one of your best and should be number one on the Hot List!”

Top Ten Writers Who Haven’t been Realized, Yet!

I have come to the realization that the best writers on Triond pay homage to other great writers and this is what I am trying to do.

I have chosen some writers on the basis of what they are exactly trying to convey with their pieces and should be receive more recognition:

James DeVere  
Enzo Silvestri
Bruce A Tucker
Chris Stonecipher
Papaleng
Robert Brian Garza
John Turner
Countrymom
Marjoram1234
Virginia Morgan

If you have any further questions for me or you would like to check out Friends Revolution, a blog that showcases some really wonderful talents on Triond and the online community feel free to shoot me a line.

Regards and Blessing

Lauren

Just recently I have received messages such as ' Read my latest work' (you know who you are), there was no, how are you and I have read your poem/article and left a comment, just a cold call. It was followed by several beautiful messages from Triond friends, they enquired after my health and family, they left comments on my work in the correct box and generally lifted my spirits. I returned to their work and selected work that caught my eye and did likewise. I got messages from new fans and we became friends.

I then started to get more 'cold calls' and was ready to hit the block button ( I may still do so).

After a few weeks of this I made a decision, anyone who cold calls gets ignored, I do not return the friendship, anyone who is a true Triond friend, those who support my work will get it, as always, returned. Those of you who know me well enough, know I am a supporter, giver and never call upon you to read my work, I leave you to find it at your leisure.

I then took it a step further, I stopped writing on Triond, I have well over 100 pieces of work here and with various other writing projects and family wedding commitments I felt there was enough for folk to view.

My findings:

a) My friends never left me

b) My friends read  my original work and still took time out for me

c) My friends are the true back bone of Triond

d) The cold calling continued

e) I still gained fans but no message or introduction either through a comment or message

f) I gained fans through messages

g) I gained fans through comments

h) I had time to view more work of new writers

I) I had time to view more work of undiscovered writers and of my friends older works

j) some writers/ fans appear to only look at the new work that appears in the new feed, old work is ignored

k) My Triond earnings were the same!!!

Yes I earned no less than before.

The result of my findings:

a) I have loyal friends

b) I dislike cold callers and will remove them from my friends list very soon, unless I see their name in my message box or comments box...

Okay, you newbies will say, but I hit the 'I like' button as I whizzed by, please answer this, how do I know?

Old friends will do this and I have no worries about that, this is because at least once or twice along the way they remember me, or they take time for a selection of friends over a period of time or they introduced themselves at the very beginning of our supportive Triond relationship. Time as we know is precious, but just think, if you make an effort then you gain a friend and remember this, that friend has friends too, they could become fans if you take time and make the effort. Don't forget my friends have been writing on here for a long time, some of their older works are interesting and deserve a viewing, don't just rely on the daily news feed for your Triond fix. Happy Scribblings!

Resources You Recommended

• Story Mash
• Associated Content
• Helium
• Shvoong

In addition to these resources you have been gracious enough to list, I would like to add several others. You can submit articles to various magazines online. (I would advise you to familiarize yourself with the magazine first-something you can also do online.) In addition, you can enter writing contests and join various web sites provide writers with a plethora of resources. (I would, however, advise you to read how you can tell genuine Internet writing contests from fake ones prior to entering here.

Magazines that Pay for Your Submissions

• Analog
• Open Spaces
• Apex
• The Rose and Thorn
• The Pedestal Magazine

Magazines that Do Not Pay for Submissions

• Planet Magazine
• Women Writers
• Word Riot

Writing Contests

• Poets and Writers
• Once Written

Web Sites for Writers

• Writers Write
• Freelance Writing

Once again, the Internet has many resources for the freelance writer. Please let me know if you would like me to continue listing some of them.

1. Network

While making friends should be everyone's business it is a critical element here at Triond. The larger your network, the larger your viewing popularity will be and if you reciprocate by reading others' work the karma will return to you many times over. This is a classic case of “it is not what you know but who you know”. So read, read, read and comment, comment, comment.

   2.  Tags for Content

Most of us probably tag our work according to feeling or thought. I believe that key words in the body of work are important as well. Example, if you are writing a how to article for changing oil in your car, use every synonym associated with oil, change and car. Exactly how we think or use words may not be the same for others.

  3.  Read All How To Articles Relating to Triond

I have a habit of looking at views and likes for every article I read especially the how to's for overnight Triond stardom. Most of these articles appear pretty successful with views and likes. Each article brings something different to the table and we are all waiting, starving, ready to devour this information. With everyone wanting a large readership we search for offered secrets and hidden treasures and these how to or idea articles are perfect for just that.

I wish much luck and success for us all.

The presence of these pranksters is annoying and disturbing. They send writer's profile to other sites like blogs, discussion boards, forums, online chatting with the aims to insult the writers. They are here not for a serious writing but making trouble and creating misunderstanding instead. Sometimes they are bored and looking for entertainment by posting nasty and abuse comments. And sometimes they exist at some writing platforms to hurt the other. They may perceive that they are righteous avengers, and righting the faults and wrongdoing of the targeted writers. They are such a harsh people lack of civilization as they will strike back the only way they could. The pranksters themselves prefer to abuse others out of their jealousy, hurtful and revengeful emotions by spreading the misunderstood comments to the world.

Abuse comments are indeed scary and horrible. Whoever has gone through the conflict firsthand can tell you the nightmare. There are moments that will send chills down your spine. Below are some examples of abuse comments:

I wish you were dead!

I'll kill you if you're still there writing!

If you try and report me, I'll hack into your computer!

I hate you! You're stupid and dumb, get out here!

I'll spread your rumors and abuse your image so that people won't believe on you…

I'll use your name to leave hurtful and threatening comments so that people will boycott your writings….

Imagine how hurtful for writers who read these comments from the comfort of their home. How frightening and distressful this would be for the writer! I'm sad to learn that the similar threats and vicious comments are circulated very rapidly via the internet every single day.

I respect the freedom of speech. But even, every one of us is given a right to say anything we'd like to say, please don't abuse the value behind the right to speak. It's not always a pleasant lesson to have spiteful and derogatory comments circulated around the writing world. The freedom of speech that fosters the bad consequence of comments or communications shouldn't be allowed but they must deserve the punishment.

The internet has fulfilled everyone's dream to voice their opinions with ease. Nevertheless, the pranksters have misused their comments either to criticize people in a hateful way or make fun of them in some vicious means. They have abused their rights by using these hateful and derogatory comments as a form of harassment and aggressive behavior intended to harm others via technological means. Their objectives are achieved when they send threatening and malicious comments directly to a person, or they may send humiliating or hurtful comments to other sites in order to harass and/ or threaten others online. Even though the comments may not be getting innocent writers hurt physically, but they will cause them hurting emotionally. When they hurt physically, their scars or wounds will heal. What if they are hurt emotionally? These comments will stay with them for the rest of their life and may not be easily healed. They're here causing trouble for writers and just would like to see the writer torn apart. The abuse comments are indeed hurting and distressing! It is emotionally devastating for the innocent writers!

The action of these pranksters - rumors, threats, gossip, humiliation - are nothing new, as their wicked campaigns have started to move to e-mails, blogs, websites, chat rooms, and even text messaging. Among the internet users, these vicious gossips, racists and threatening comments are growing so rampant and quickly that most of the targeted writers are affected emotionally. With wireless technology, they are distributed much more quickly than you could ever imagine as they're being put up and shared around the world. Their wicked motives are shielded as most of the websites and screen names give them a mask of using “unknown” names, making them difficult to trace. Bullies and abuse are often anonymous, and sadly to say, most of the harassment takes place off. The bully then sits back laughing from seeing the affected parties engage in destructive behavior towards each other. The pressure could be felt by the innocent writers when their names are misused somewhere by these irresponsible parties and that means bullies can even extend their harassment into their lives, jobs and studies. It's indeed horrible enough, if someone made a joke about you, or said something to degrade your sacred personality.

Their objectives to leave such hateful and spiteful comments are clear that they want to control, manipulate, dominate and colonize their “territories”. They take revenge by seeing you react, and they try to control whatever ways they could. And their final aims are watching the affected writers wearing down. In this case, the affected writers become their “Baiting Game”. They stay there, watching and stirring the pot with additional “ingredients” (provocation) and they'd laugh with a sense of gratification upon seeing the affected parties indulge in destructive interaction and behavioral pattern.

When you come across writers being threatened by these pranksters, please give your utmost support and encouragement to boost them to a level they should be. With regards to the recent abuse among the Triond community, Triond has acted promptly and timely by introducing the add-in new feature for their commenting system. They even put this issue on their blog Your Comments, Your Identity. But, I'm sad to find it not to be a compulsory requirement for every Triond user here. I hope every writer here can make full use of this new feature to curb the intention of using our name for leaving hateful and nasty comments by some irresponsible and immoral parties.

Content Generation

If you're like me, and coming up with ideas for articles is the least of your worries, then feel free to skip over this section.  Your problem is more likely time management or promotion.  For those of you having trouble coming up with that groundbreaking article, please read on.

Now, this is not to suggest that your experience on Triond should be one of catering to the majority.  If you build a steady following writing prose/poetry or film reviews, for example, then by all means write about that.  On the other hand, if you're willing to do a little research, you can delve into topics you didn't even know would interest you!

First all, be aware.  As other users have said, pay attention to the "Hot Users" section and see what they are writing about.  To get into that section your article has to be something original that will capture people's attention.  (Don't forget a snazzy title as well.)  Take a look at your interests--what are some interesting things about, say, stamp collecting, drag racing, baking, or even writing that you think people may want to know?  Exploring your own interests first will also give people the idea that you've done your homework and you know what you're talking about.  I've noticed that articles that seem to be thrown together some attention, but fade rather quickly.

Secondly, look into some new interests; or synthesize your current interests with something you're unfamiliar with.  This can also help to produce original and thought-provoking content.  Let's say you're into stamp collecting, but you're not that great with history--and perhaps you'd like to be.  A little Google/Wikipedia search could help you track down some well known people who were secret stamp collectors.  See?  You've taken your specialty and given it an intriguing twist!

Finally, a little healthy competition never hurt anyone!  If you're cruisin' Triond--and I suggest you do--and you come across an article to which you would like to respond, then that is another possibility.  You don't simply have to comment, you can write an entire article as a response.  Rememeber, however, that displaying maturity is the best way to be taken seriously.

Quality and Quantity

One of my major problems is quantity, which is connected to the next topic.  Anyway, I like to think that I put a good deal of effort into writing my articles--editing them even after publication for clarity or the inclusion of additional information.  When it comes to content writing in the form of advertising revenues, it is important to have both quantity and quality.  In order to earn a decent part-time income from Triond, you're going to have to write a few to several articles per day that will accrue a great deal of views and comments. 

Your articles are going to have to transcend time--meaning that they are relevant no matter when they are read.  For instance, should I write an article about the upcoming election, the fervor would most likely get me a good number of views, but as the election passes and passions cool, fewer and fewer people are going to be interested in my predictions of said election--for obvious reasons.  There's nothing wrong with writing sometime time-specific, but you must understand that that time will pass.

On the other hand, continuing to produce content keeps an interest going in your overall content.  If someone reads an article you recently published, they will be more likely to go to your profile and read other articles that you've published in the past.  The longer your articles sit around, the less likely your other content is to be viewed.

About editing, I believe it is important to keep your content up to date, possibly responding to new media resources or reader comments.  For example, my article "How to Cope in an Interracial Relationship", is one that covers sensitive material.  Thus, in order to ensure that my message was received as I intended it, I had to edit the first couple of sentences for clarity.  In addition, as I mentioned in "How to be a Bad Fiction Writer", revision is your friend.  It will also ensure you keep your content fresh and interesting. 

Not to mention, if you think your content is killer, but for some reason people aren't reading, try changing your title to something a little more eye-catching.  There's nothing wrong with that!

Time Management

If you're like me, constantly running around trying to get a million things done at once, then writing for Triond may serve as more of a hobby.  To combat the lengthy intervals between articles, I find it quite useful to keep a notebook handy.  It doesn't have to be anything special, just something in which you can jot down article ideas--or even write drafts to be copied online at a later date.  In fact, this section of this article was written in a notebook during some down time.

Another good idea (for writers of all kinds) is to try to keep a schedule.  Perhaps setting aside a specific day or time of day dedicated to writing/revising your articles.  This is also a good way of being memorable to your readership.  If you only publish articles every two weeks, the articles you have already published will lose readership (especially if you are a novice such as myself).

Community/Networking

No matter how many articles you've written--even if it's just one--it's absolutely important that you connect to the Triond community.  This is not to suggest, on the other hand, that you befriend Triond users for no particular reason.  It would be much more productive to add people who share the same interests you do, guaranteeing that they will at least glance at your articles, and you can genuinely comment on the content they produce.  Stronger bonds are built this way and you can establish your own publishing niche that will support one another.  Many users do this already--without even noticing it.  Unless you're very rigorously promoting your work outside of Triond (to be covered more extensively in the Promotion section below) most of the advertising revenue your articles are going to attract are going to come from other users, mostly out of curiosity or in an attempt to get tips for their own writing endeavors.

Another "tips" article for Triond suggested that users copy-paste links to articles that may be relevant to articles on which they are commenting.  I would say this is definitely a good idea for someone with a busy schedule.  Since the name you use when you comment on people's articles is not linked to your profile, it may make sense for your to post a link to your similar/related article so people can get a chance to check you out without having to search the users.  So far, I haven't tried this technique, because I have no been able to connect as much with the community with my busy schedule.  Another means of improvement for me!

Tags

As I'm sure you've read in other Triond articles articulating tips for additional success, it is extremely important that you embue your articles with relevant tags that can be Googled and read by people from as many places as possible.  I would suggest placing as many relevant tags as possible, and once your article has been published and gotten some views, try to Google it and see how long it takes to find your article.  Now, try this with other content that is listed at "hot" and see how long it takes you.  This is just as much as a "Promotion" problem as a tag problem--these things are not mutually exclusive.  If the tags on your content cannot be adequately searched for, then people who don't read your blog, don't use stumble and other networking sites are not going to be able to find you.  It's just as important to establish niches on Triond as it is to attract people who might not have found you otherwise.  I've been trying to work on the "searchability" of my articles since I joined Triond--which wasn't that long ago.

Promotion

Again, in my opinion, the single most important think you can do with your content is to promote it.  No matter how little content you have or how poor you believe the quality to be.  Undoubtedly, the more frequently one produces content, the more practice one has as to what works stylistically and tactfully.  There are a few ways you can actively promote your work--and even ways you can let your articles virtually promote themselves. 

A few of the suggestions on other "Tips" articles has been to use social bookmarking sites such as StumbleUpon, Technorati, Digg, Facebook, etc.  Go for it.  Use all of them.  They certainly help get the word out there.  On the other hand, if you're looking for substantial comments on your articles (especially if you're a creative writer), you may not be able to get that from mere stumbles or clicks.  It will help your revenue, but it won't provide any helpful criticism--if that's what you're looking for.  If you're a creative writer looking for criticism, I would suggest posting your stories on writing forums/groups that specialize in such, with the occasional stumble here and click there that would surely help to benefit you monetarily as well...

Another way to help promote your content is to start a blog.  I know at times it seems blogging is so "passe," but it actually helps to get people to feel a deeper connection to your work.  They get to know you (or your ideals) and then they find an interest in the content you produce; thus, gaining yourself another kind of niche outside of the Triond community.  With Blogger, you can add various kind of HTML to the page and include various social networking subscriptions to your comments--killing many birds with just one stone.  In addition, if you really find yourself passionate about the blogging community, you can join sites like Blog Catalog that help you favorite blogs of interest, join groups, and get in contact with other bloggers from all over the place.  So, whether you're interested in starting a monetized blog for promotional or personal purposes, you can connect with more people who will undoubtedly provide you with more readership.

One tip that will seem quite obvious--even though I have yet to utilize it myself--is to have your content promote itself by having time sensitive content.  When Halloween starts rolling around, produce content about costumes, haunted houses, or scary animals.  When Thanksgiving/Christmas gets near, start publishing content about family gatherings, toy reviews, shopping tips, etc.  Once Valentine's Day makes an appearance, produce articles about flowers, gifts for her/him, love, relationships, and all that good stuff.  What do I mean when I say your content is promoting itself?  Well, the arrival of these holidays prompts people to search for themselves, but if they don't have to search (if you've befriended people with similar interests on Triond) then their "Friends' News" will supply them with all the holiday information they could want.

Well, I hope these beginner's tips have been of some help.  I will continue to update it as I find more useful things to share with other beginners--or even old timers who could use some article rejuvenation!  Happy writing.

People often surprise me when they tell me they don't have a clue what NaNoWriMO (or ‘NaNo', for short) is all about. That's usually when I explain that NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. "National Novel - what?"

National Novel Writing Month has been around for ten years. It is a challenge that many writers participate in. The goal is to write a novel with a minimum of 50,000 words, from scratch, in one month - November. During this month, literally thousands of writers aim at the same goal; writing a novel of 50,000 words before the end of the month.

Many writers start plotting and developing their characters a few months ahead of NaNoWriMo. They share their excitement with each other and they meet other NaNo-ers or WriMos - as they call themselves - in the site's chat room. During the month of November they visit the forums and talk about the progress of their novel.

They will spend all their spare-time on the challenge and they reach their goal one by one. And the people who have not written 50,000 words at the end of the month can still be proud of themselves. They took part in this challenge and spent a lot of their spare-time writing their novel. Something they may have not done otherwise.

Many writers use writer's block as an excuse for not writing, but NaNoWriMo proves that writers can write if they really want to.

I then looked through users and found faces not logos, faces. I contacted those faces by reading an article and leaving a comment. I received messages back to thank me and we made friends.

I found a comment in a box at the bottom of one of my articles, I was delighted, I contacted the writer of said comment and we became friends. This is the procedure I use all of the time, it is called saying Thanks for noticing me and taking time out to comment, I am doing the same to acknowledge you exist and I noticed.

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During my time of reading the work of a writer I came across, I noticed the article had a few errors that distracted me from reading what was a potentially good piece of work, I wrote to the writer through the comments box not wishing to follow the abusive insults that others had  left behind, the writer contacted me, asked for my advice, I gave it and the article was 'fixed' , resubmitted and  the writer contacted me to say the earnings on this article had more than doubled in a day, we became friends.

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I left a comment once that maybe should have been a private message, I learnt a lesson that day but the outcome was I apologised publicly and the writer and I are friends, we support the work of each other on a regular basis.

Every day I read the work of my friends, ninety nine percent of the time I try to leave a comment, not just click the 'I like' box  but let them know I support and encourage them as a friend would. They in turn, by about fifty percent, return the favour. All the time I am reading I am noticing others and the way they comment, curiosity about their name or the style of how they comment gets me looking them up, I usually find a new friend.

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Never have I gone cold calling, not bothering to leave a comment in the box provided and then messaging them to tell them their work is great and would they go and read my work, if I want them to notice my work, I use what I consider the polite method of leaving a comment on their work and then messaging privately to see if they will befriend me.

My Blog Method

I have three active Blogs, one that I use for advertisers to come and go, one I use for my hobby and the other I use for linking to my Triond works.

I have links to my friends from Triond, the links takes the world and his friend to their profile page, this is my way of saying, thanks for supporting me, the link list is growing and therefore the more visitors I get a portion of them will call into see my friends too.

I have a side bar set up with the titles of some of my works published by Triond, visitors from outside of Triond click and find, therefore gaining the extra viewer from outside of Triond.

My Website Method

I have a people friendly non-earning (for me anyway) website, I have added a writers corner for my Triond friends to add their scribbles and links to their work, this is a new item and I am thrilled to see a few faces that I know there. The links are linked to my blogs and Triond, see how it can get you noticed? The address is on my profile, but don't forget if you want this effort free way of getting your work linked, be my friend at Triond first.

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StumbleUpon

I and several of my friends from Triond use this method, daily I get the nudge from the StumbleUpon toolbar to say, 'Hi how are you? What do you think of this?' we move our work around together, supporting each other outside of Triond and because we are not clones and we have different types of friends from around the world, our work get seen in places we never knew existed.

Digg

I will confess, I use this method but not often, I find it a little confusing to use at times but that is me, my friends here use it a lot to support each other.

So that is how I use Triond to get noticed, support my friends and get support in return. It is not hard work and it pays to be polite.

However, due to the immense support of the community, I have been able to land on the Hot List many times. It was a real honor considering I had only been here for a short time.

This would have never happened without the support of some pretty amazing people that I befriended in the beginning. Writers such as Norbert Soloria Bermosa, Nelson Doyle, Leo Reyes, Karen N, RJ Evans, Lost in Arizona, and Melissa K have given me open and honest support and they too continue to leave me comments on all of my works. In turn, I still continue to read all of their work and leave comments for the majority of every piece.

During my stay here, I have slowly but surely developed a following of friends and fans. The problem is that once some of these fans become your friends, they disappear never to be seen again and then they land in the next hot users fan box.

The whole motive behind this is to obtain as many page views as possible for the sole purpose of benefiting themselves.

I know I'm not the only user that has experienced this issue. Some may not want to stir the pot but, it is imperative that we all have a supportive community and that we are not intentionally targeting top users for the sole purpose of self fulfillment.

It's a two-way street in here. I, as a college student, have limited time when I do check out my Triond account. However, I will take the time to comment on every article in my community mailbox because I know how important it is to receive some sort of feedback for the work you are so proud of.

Many users may not have the time to do this because, of course, there is life outside of Triond. We all have jobs or responsibilities that take up our valuable time on occasion, so it's not always imperative to check out Triond before those tasks are taken care of.

What I am saying is that when you are a fan of someone's work, do you have an ulterior motive or do you really respect their work?

In my opinion, it usually tips me off when a new writer is adding friends so vigorously without even writing one piece. The motive is completely recognizable and most times you'll never see those people again on your comments section.

When you do become a friend, do you actually read the other persons work and just not comment because you don't feel like it or you're afraid that your comments will be construed in the wrong sense of the situation?

Either way, I think we all respect and welcome feedback as a source of support for our literary works. Sometimes you just need to hear what was wrong with the piece, what will get it noticed and if you used the wrong type of grammar or spelling.

My point is, "yes I have one", if you are new to Triond and you are innocently trying to make friends, just wait until you have some pieces published. The fans and friends will follow once you start to establish a presence.

Otherwise, if your sole purpose of being here is for self gratification without the added benefit of friends, don't even try to hide behind false pretences because the writers in here are too gifted to fall for the fakest of hearts.