Is God Real?

Funny you should ask! Funny you should ask me, who rarely answers “of course“ or “certainly not!” about anything.

Does God exist? “Of course!“ I proclaim, since I experience that life exists. Don’t we all experience our breath and the extraordinary life force in all living things?

“Of course” does not mean I believe that a monotheistic deity is granting mercy to some but not to others. I answer “Certainly not!” to God’s existence if it means a monotheist’s deity who watches over only true believers.

Recently I was listening to a BBC radio show called Humphreys in Search of God. (You really must try BBC! When it comes to programming, they’re years ahead of NPR.) A world-weary journalist, Michael Humphreys, wants to believe in God but lost his faith after years of reporting from war-torn countries. Humphreys interviews an archbishop, a rabbi, and a Muslim academic. It’s not surprising the men of faith explain that the God principle is much bigger than we can understand, and that is where faith and belief must enter. When living with faith we should not necessarily expect divine intervention, but we should still honor God and pray.

This does not satisfy me. It only brings me back to the ever-present puzzle “either God exists or doesn’t.” It troubles me that with religion, I must use my imagination to accept God’s existence. I don’t need to use faith to see that nature is God. The natural world is what I can accept and honor.

I am also comfortable with Buddhism. Buddhism doesn’t require worship of a God or deity, although Buddhism certainly has spiritual beliefs. A metaphysical slant is not necessary to ascribe to the principle that karma from right actions brings right results. This karma may take many lifetimes to unfold, but that seems better than the concept of hell or salvation. The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path of Buddhism are pragmatic and have enough latitude for me to grasp.

Photograph by SJiong. Some rights reserved.

I sometimes envy people who have a firm belief in the traditional personal God, but are not overbearing about it. They seem to have a deportment, and maybe an entitlement to security that I lack. I work in a southern Christian African American community; answering machines routinely say “Have a blessed day.” If I questioned colleagues with ”Does God exist?” it would result in the response “Go read your Bible“ or “You better get on to church!” This community does not look at human suffering or injustice as proof that God doesn’t exist. Hardship seems to have shored up their faith rather than weakened it.

Butterfly McQueen (the stereotypical house maid Prissy in Gone with the Wind–remember “I don’t know nothin’ ’bout birthin’ no babies!”) was an atheist and a member of the Freedom from Religion Foundation. She said “As my ancestors are free from slavery, I am free from the slavery of religion.” She was a community activist who preferred to clean up blighted neighborhoods than to pray for them.

Questions about God’s reality are often asked of the scientific and intellectual communities. People far more intellectually-endowed than I ponder God. Einstein was deluged with letters asking his opinion on the existence of God. He said “I cannot conceive of a personal God who would directly influence the actions of individuals, or would directly sit in judgment on creatures of his own creation.” But I’m sure he was awed and respectful of the life concepts he studied.

I prefer what Norman Mailer, the recently deceased author, expressed about God. He said that he felt that God is an artist. I agree. The universe is a fascinating creation with a blend of good and bad. Furthermore, we were given brains so we can imagine whatever we want about our existence (and we do!).

Ask me! Is God real? Of course! My version of God exists for me. How about yours?

Submitted by Betty Story, a researcher, writer, and recovering librarian. http://raisondebettyii.blogspot.com/

by Jenni Robison

There is a God. How do I know? I simply do. Otherwise how can you explain life, consciousness, conscientiousness, or love? Of course, Darwinians and those who pretend they don’t believe in God can do as they wish. We have a choice of beliefs because God gave us free will!

Photo by Camille King. Some rights reserved.

In the “moment of now” (a very popular phrase today), we are all united by one thing: life. Yes, everything is part of one cosmic whole. Even our cells have consciousness! Therefore I am unable to comprehend how some people don’t believe there is a God. Something guides everything–creation, evolution, miracles… it must! And there is too much hope in this world for God not to exist to acknowledge it.

After considering if God exists let me ask you something that might make your brain explode: Who or what made God?

Photograph by NoHoDamon. Some rights reserved.

10. Not enough screenings of Norma Rae. The magazine The Nation already believes that Hollywood is antagonistic to the working class.

9. The Taft-Hartley Act allows binding arbitration for protection of public health, safety, or interest – not for movies.

8. The Air Traffic Controllers are going to redirect any planes bringing the parties together because PATCO was decertified.

7. Terrorists have infiltrated WGA as an attack on the American pursuit of happiness!

6. Big Oil wants to destroy the greenest industry in America because it is switching from film (petroleum based) to digital. Entertainment doesn’t leave strip mines in its wake, the electricity costs are negligible compared to any other manufacturing industry, and the results are reusable for generations. (You can read how lower cost digital media is making independent films easier to produce on Wikipedia.)

5. The WGA wants to continue the great traditions of American Labor. This battle has been waged since America’s inception.

4. Media moguls think screenwriters will be easy to replace. They are wrong.

3. If screenwriters get power so will software engineers, and Bill Gates is against it.

2. Screenwriters don’t know how to tell their own stories and unions have been objecting to movies for a long time! The New York Times reported strikers objecting to film in 1906.

1. It is a greedy grab for more money by both sides – and greed is never satisfied.

Written by Mary Howell.

Craig finally gets his wish - a photo with the Naked Brothers - at last nights WorldWide Biggies launch party (a Yovia Client).

The writers are striking! The writers are striking! It’s been over a week since the strike began.

Are your favorite shows affected? If you don’t watch TV, could you care less? Regardless of what you think, screen writers are fellow laborers. Unlike those who speak their words on screen they’re not strutting red carpets, endorsing clothing lines, or receiving the same residuals that make performers and executives wealthy. If you enjoy TV shows on your I-Pod, phone, or computer, you are part of the market that the writers fear is stealing their revenue.

Photograph by “Adam”. Some rights reserved.

The Wall Street Journal reports that in current compensation structure writers of prime time programs earn minimum of $21,000 for a half-hour script or $31,000 for a one-hour script. The main point of the Writers’ Guild of America (WGA) strike, which began on November 5th, is the networks’ hot pursuit of creating web distribution channels with the hope that advertisers will follow. Writers fear that unless they negotiate for residual payments now, they will lose out in the future. Currently, an advertising model for Internet television hasn’t evolved; advertisers still pay more for network television ads than they do for Internet television. Writers receive a flat fee the first two times an episode airs and earn extra fees if the show goes into syndication or sells foreign rights.

The WGA has the memory of their strike in 1985 when the home video market was just beginning. At that time, the production companies called home videos an “unproven market” and the writers accepted a very small percentage of the earnings from it. Now home video sales far outstrip box office sales. According to The New York Times, in 2004 companies made $4.8 billion in home video sales vs. $1.78 billion at the box office.

Negotiations for online or phone distribution are murky because the WGA is asking for the same compensation they receive for cable or pay TV, but networks claim there are as yet no earnings from this new market to use as a basis. The distributors claim that the Internet is a marketing tool rather than a platform for actual viewing. The writers are balking at the idea of writing promotional web content and not being fairly compensated for their work.

But in the end it’s all about us consumers, isn’t it? How does this affect you? Wikipedia (so useful!) has a chart that shows which shows will be affected. Reality shows can carry on with their unscripted spontaneity. South Park is not affected by the strike since its writers aren’t guild members.

What’s going on outside of mainstream media reports? TiFaux has rallied the TV blogs for insider news and opinions to withhold new content. The blog United Hollywood is written by the strike captains and continues to produce updates. This just in: twenty TV Blogs are striking today, too. In solidarity they are going dark.

But how sympathetic are we? I’m sympathetic to everyone struggling to make ends meet. Immigrant laborers should be so lucky as to have the income issues TV writers face. Yes, it’s a lame comparison. It’s like comparing apples to macadamia nuts, or comparing making $21,000 for a half-hour script to earning less than a $6.50 hourly wage.

In 1990 I was on teachers strike for a few weeks in the Virgin Islands because a negotiated raise never reached the our paychecks. We ended up going back to work without our demands met. We needed to pay our mortgages or rent, and buy groceries. But we went back too soon. It took several other strikes against the VI government to secure that raise. If you make a threat, you have to be prepared to follow through.

Photograph by “Adam”. Some rights reserved.

The writers have lifestyles to support, too. Although they are probably beyond living paycheck to paycheck, their work is making executives and performers rich. Having been raised blue collar and schooled in the labor versus management struggle, I know management will always push for more work. It’s labor’s role to not let them get away with it. Not true Marxist theory, but my observations as a laborer.

Submitted by Betty Story. Betty Story is a writer, researcher and recovering librarian. She can be contacted at betstory@storyinfo.net

Dig, if you will, this idea: birth control for pigeons. Linda Vista, a San Diego neighborhood, is apparently so infested with pigeons that the local community board has decided to bring in the big guns to control the bird population. Living in San Diego myself, I’m fairly familiar with the area. There’s certainly a good amount of winged rats in scenic Linda Vista, but it’s nowhere near what you’d find in major urban areas like New York City, Paris, or London.

Photograph by Alessandro Ronchi. Some rights reserved.

In New York, for example, pigeons were turning the daily commute into a minor nightmare. When the famous St. George Staten Island Ferry terminal reopened in 2005 after a lengthy multi-million dollar renovation, weary commuters discovered that the building had been practically overrun by pigeons. The birds managed to build nests all through the ceiling panels, resulting in showers of bird “droppings” and, even more disgusting, the maggots that feed on the feces. The Staten Island commute is already a challenge involving a combination of subway, ferry, and bus, so it’s not hard to imagine that the addition of sky rats would meet with fierce New York-style reprisals. At the time, Councilman Oddo (R) of Staten Island stated: “The reproductive rights of pigeons comes in a distant second to my constituents and their commute.”

In beautiful, suburban Linda Vista, where it’s sunny 330 days per year and the worst that could happen is some unsightly splotches on your parked car, the local residents have also had enough. They’re putting the birds on the pill. The product used is OvoControl P, which is produced locally in San Diego County. OvoControl P doesn’t harm the birds and even allows them to lay eggs. The eggs just don’t hatch, so the bird population gradually declines. OvoControl works by interfering with the development of the vitaline membrane, which separates the egg white from its yolk. So technically the product is not a contraceptive (preventing fertilization) but a contragestive (preventing gestation), making it a form of very early abortion.

Somewhat surprisingly (at least to me), the Humane Society and even PETA seem to be okay with animal birth control, comparing it to the practice of spaying or neutering pets. Birth prevention is better than killing, according to PETA’s version of Planned Parenthood, the ABC (Animal Birth Control) program. Given that the pigeon is considered the number one pest bird in the world, it’s not surprising that PETA would lean towards pro-choice in this case. But it’s hard to ignore that the real cause of the problem in Linda Vista is the fact that good portions of the population actually feed the pigeons, which encourages them to roost in the area. However, after careful consideration it has been determined that it would be easier to implement birth control for pigeons than to retrain the human population not to feed the birds.

Submitted by Stefan Raets. Stefan is a refugee from the corporate world. When he isn’t reading or writing, he’s probably feeding or diapering his newborn son.

A new web series….

As everyone probably knows by now, the Screen Writer’s Guild of America went on strike this week. The main issues are DVD residuals and, probably most importantly, “new media” sales. In a nutshell: the entertainment business is a different animal now than it was in 1988 (when the WGA had their last strike). We didn’t have YouTube, IPTV, TV programming on phones, TV shows sold over iTunes, and so on. The WGA is fighting for a reasonable piece of a suddenly changed–and much bigger–pie. It’s easy to imagine record industry execs smiling in their beards, thinking “We knew you had it coming too…”

I expect that with such comedic talent walking the picket lines we will get the funniest picket line placards ever. Letterman’s writers should have a field day with this one: “Top 10 reasons our demands should be met”. With any luck, they’ll be able to use some of it on the show when the strike is over. “Stupid Industry Exec Tricks” perhaps?

It’s understandable that sitcoms would go off air as soon as already recorded episodes run out. After all, we can’t expect actors to be funny too (except Wonder Woman Tina Fey!). But how about evening talk shows? Letterman, Leno, Conan and co. have all gone to re-runs immediately. Why couldn’t the shows be rearranged temporarily to have less focus on topical humor and more on interviews? Couldn’t a program director extend the celebrity interviews by 5 minutes each and get the musical guest to play 2 songs (which works perfectly fine on Saturday Night Live) to make up a 1 hour show? After all, Letterman didn’t sign a contract with us stating he has to provide a Top 10 every night, right?

Photograph (c) 2007 by “Paul”. Some rights reserved.

I’ll probably display a shocking level of ignorance about the entertainment industry here… but seriously, can’t an accomplished comedian and professional such as Letterman come up with a handful of Top 10s and other segments? Leno’s said he considers himself a working comedian who still performs 300+ nights per year to keep his skills sharp. Can’t he come up with some original material to pull off a 5 minute monologue? The kids on Last Comic Standing (if you haven’t seen it, think American Idol for stand-up comedians) are sometimes forced to come up with entire sets in a matter of hours, and they’re newbies! Ellen DeGeneres will not be going off the air because she writes the majority of her material herself. What a novel (or old-fashioned?) concept: a talk show host/comedian who actually writes jokes! What’s next? Will we be stuck with reruns again when the guy who types the jokes into the teleprompter goes on strike?

It’s my hope that the main reason these late night shows are going off the air is the fact that the on-air talent are standing by their writers. After all, many of them were writers once, too. It’s wonderful to see that some actors are standing side by side with their staff writers. (Ladies, your McDreamy fix right here.) My favorite story so far is on the United Hollywood blog: (The Office’s) Steve Carell informed NBC that he is unable to report to work because he is suffering from “enlarged balls.”

On the other hand there are some reports that the industry, in an effort to keep the daytime dramas going, is already employing scab writers: typically experienced soap writers who aren’t currently working on a show. They can write undercover to keep the show going and get paid when the strike is over. From the networks’ financial perspective it makes sense to do this, and I’m sure an unemployed writer can stand to earn a few bucks. But you can imagine these folks won’t be too popular with their peers…

One comment posted on the WGA video team page on YouTube reads “Boiled down, it’s the ‘writers are highly paid cry babies’ against the ’studios are greedy pigs’” and is signed “the many TV watchers who make your jobs possible”. Maybe a bit extreme, but the end result for many of us who aren’t involved in the entertainment industry is simply no new TV shows for a while. Some people I know are already reactivating their Netflix accounts. It’s sad that in this on-demand entertainment age TV has become such a solitary experience, with people Tivo’ing their favorite shows and watching them whenever they want. It’s been a while since I heard people talk enthusiastically about yesterday’s episode. More often now you hear “Wait, don’t tell me, I recorded it.”

Final note, going back to Steve Carell’s cojones: according to some sources NBC is considering airing the original British version of The Office in place of the American one. While I fully support Carell and love the American show, it would be nice to have the brilliant original show aired here on network TV.

Submitted by Stefan Raets. Stefan is a refugee from the corporate world. When he isn’t reading or writing, he’s probably feeding or diapering his newborn son.

by Michael Talbert

There’s no doubt about it: in Africa, horrific things are happening. But what’s going on? What can we do about it? Well, that depends on who you are, and what you mean by “we”. Read on to discover the terrible history of genocide in Africa and current efforts to alleviate the intolerable situations there.

The practice of genocide in modern day Africa began in 1966, perpetrated by clerics, emirs, and politicians of northern Nigeria on the Igbo nation of Biafra. Over 100,000 Igbo were killed or maimed. Over the next forty years and counting, Africa experienced mass genocide, ethnic cleansing, killing fields–whatever term you use it was cold-blooded murder on a massive, national scale. And it’s continuing.

During his reign Idi Amin alone reputedly massacred anywhere from 80,000 to 500,000 Ugandans. His targets were varied: ethnic groups, journalists, judges and lawyers, and students and intellectuals, among others. Today in Uganda children are forced to watch their families being slaughtered, and are abducted to fight as rebel soldiers in the “Lord’s Resistance Army”.

Ethnic Tutsis suffer in Rwanda at the hands of the Hutus in a civil war that now overflows to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Most of the world sits idly by while journalists document the ethnic and tribal cleansing in the Dafur region of Sudan.

In the Western world, some are taking notice. But constant obstacles block the way to peace and often governments’ hands are tied. For others with the greatest potential to enact change, efforts are halfhearted at best.

The United States can do little militarily since it’s armed forces are mired in the country’s own ethnic cleansing war elsewhere. The United States also claims not to engage in nation building, and intervention in Africa would be construed as just that.

We, as the United Nations, can condemn the atrocities, sanction the governments, and send in a UN peacekeeping force–but such actions have little practical effect.

Wealthy individuals consider it ill-advised to mediate directly between warring factions, so philanthropists direct their money at what they perceive to be the root of the problem: education, health, and hunger.

Oprah built a school for girls in South Africa to forward the cause of equal opportunity. Although off to a shaky start, the world knows where her heart is. Warren Buffet gives his money to Bill Gates to invest in positive change through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Bill just doesn’t give money away; he fosters achievement by investing in better ways to handle heath and hunger in Africa.

Celebrities can and do use their notoriety to promote awareness, and the more affluent among them put their money where their mouths are by starting their own foundations.

U2’s lead singer Bono seems to have become better known as a philanthropist than a rock star. Bono has put his talents to use as a spokesperson, rallying people to establish organizations like DATA, an initiative to alleviate HIV and hunger in Africa through debt relief and trade practices. His most recent initiative, Product Red, recruits companies to display a logo on their products. A percentage of the profits earned go to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.

We, as the average Joe, have limited means and influence. We have the option of donating a portion of our paycheck to international relief organizations such as the Red Cross or UNICEF, but we really don’t know where or to whom our money goes. It could be directed to other areas in need, like New Orleans–which isn’t a bad thing, but isn’t beneficial to Africa, either.

Alternatively, for the price of admission we can watch a movie and save a child in the war-torn region of northern Uganda.

The award winning documentary WAR/DANCE is opening this week at select theatres around the country. It’s the story of three children who live in a refugee camp in northern Uganda and have witnessed atrocities few of us can even imagine.

Join them as they share their stories while pursuing their dreams of dance and music. Follow on their journey as they prepare to enter the finals of the Kampala Music Festival as representatives of their school in the Patongo refugee camp.

You can view the seven minute theatrical trailer at WARDANCE.org, a joint project between Yovia, Shine Global and THINKFilm. 100% of Shine Global profits (the film’s producers) goes back to charity.

Watch the film–save a life. It’s a way to do your part to combat the horror in Africa. Get involved and know you’re making a difference.

Photo courtesy of THINKFilm Company

WAR/DANCE
In times of war, they dance

Coming soon to a theater near you.

Sources:
The New Times
Prevent Genocide: Africa

By now you know that there is fantastic incentive for promoting your pieces on Yovia. Besides simply gaining more exposure as a writer/creator, if your article is viewed 10,000 times in one week you’ll receive a $150 bonus! It may sound like a tall order, but it’s already occurred and as Yovia grows the chances of achieving this goal get better and better.

However, it won’t happen without work. We’ll help you, but you have to put some effort into spreading the word, too. The more you do, the closer you’ll come. The good news is that social promotion is a popular option now, and by participating in social bookmarking and networking sites you’re letting information about your pieces spread by leaps and bounds thanks to the word-of-mouth and interest of other people!

We’ve compiled some links, suggestions, and reference materials to help you get started promoting your work on Yovia. If you have questions, feel free to e-mail us.

Recommended promotional tools
When your material is published on Yovia we also promote it via social bookmarking. We “Digg” and “Stumble Upon” it to get the promotional ball rolling. But you should always be sure to do both to your pieces to increase their chances of being seen. We also encourage you to take a few moments to social bookmark other pieces on Yovia, so that together the network’s exposure can grow.

Across the Yovia network we offer a number of social bookmarking options and shortcuts. Some sites, like Step in the Ring, have a row of small logos representing various promotional sites, each leading to its respective site. Some sites, like Vitas!Vitas!, also have a button that reads “share” or “add this” which leads to a central page containing lots of shortcuts to promotional sites. These are handy tools that will make promoting your articles, and the articles of fellow Yovia writers, a very simple process.
Sample shortcut button:
These buttons are on the front page of each blog with their respective articles, e.g. if you’re published on NewsTrain the button will be with your article on the www.newstrain.com front page.

Another “share this” button you’ll find on both article pages and front pages of our blogs serves the same purpose and gives you another option for convenience. It looks like this:
Sample shortcut button:

Digg
Digg is a site where you can flag pages of interest to you so that other Digg users will take note of them. Digg is free to use but you must sign up for an account on the Digg site. When a URL is added to Digg (the first time someone clicks on the button to digg it, as seen on Yovia blogs and on the Digg site) a title and description must be included, but this is only needed for the initial digg. Because we do this when we publish your articles, it shouldn’t be necessary for you to take this step. However should you encounter it, the process is very simple and easy to follow. To promote your site via Digg just click the digg logo and it will add your digg to the tally (you must be logged into your Digg account). For more information you can take a tour of Digg, find out how it works, and read frequently asked questions.
Digg sample logo:

Stumble Upon
Like Digg, Stumble Upon is a way to add your “vote” for pages that have been added to the Stumble Upon site. We create the initial stumble when your article is published (the process for creating a stumble is much like what is described for creating a digg above). The difference between Digg and Stumble Upon is that to stumble you need to install a small, unobtrusive tool bar to your web browser (which can be obtained on the Stumble Upon site). This works with Internet Explorer and Firefox and is easy to install. Stumble Upon is also free, and also requires a user account that you can sign up for on the Stumble Upon site. To stumble upon your articles, you just need to click a button on the tool bar labeled “I like it!” and your vote will be counted. You can also click the Stumble Upon logo to launch the Stumble Upon site. For more information about the concept click here.
Stumble Upon sample logo:

Reddit
Reddit is like Digg, only we don’t create the initial Reddit promotion for you unless otherwise stated when we confirm your publication. If you want to use it, you will need to sign up for a free account there and when logged in, “submit” your URLs via the Reddit site. Other people can then find and vote for your pieces, spreading the word and increasing readership. For more information see the Reddit frequently asked questions and the extensive help pages.
Reddit sample logo:

Del.icio.us
Del.icio.us allows you to publicly “bookmark” a site and share your bookmarks with other users. By searching the site, users can find out what other people are bookmarking and explore those sites. We do not add your articles to del.icio.us unless otherwise stated when we confirm your publication, but encourage you to add them on your own. It requires a free account on the del.icio.us site. To use del.icio.us you will need to install a small extension to your browser, which provides a button you can click when you’re on a page you want to bookmark (like Stumble Upon). You can also use the del.icio.us logo to launch the Del.icio.us site. You’ll be asked to fill in some basic information about the page, like title and description. For more information about del.icio.us check out their help pages. Ares of interest are saving bookmarks and an explanation of social bookmarks.
Sample Del.icio.us logo:

97th Floor Tool bar
Firefox browser users can install this convenient tool bar that makes promotion via social media quick and easy. All four of the above sites (Digg, Stumble Upon, Reddit, and Del.icio.us) can be accessed from the tool bar Unfortunately it is only for Firefox users, so those with other browsers must access the sites directly.

More promotional sites
There are plenty of other places where you can share your articles. Most operate on similar principles to the four sites listed above. They include:
Newsvine (help pages)
Technorati (help pages)
Furl (help pages)
Simpy (help pages)
Propeller (help pages)
RawSugar (help pages)
Spurl (help pages)
Backflip (help pages)
Ma.gnolia (help pages)
Diigo (help pages)
Faves (help pages)
Tailrank (help pages)
Dropjack (help pages)
Feed Me Links (help pages)

If you’re hungry for others, there are other links on TopRank.

Social networking
In addition to social bookmarking you might want to promote your pieces via social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace. These are places where you can connect with other people who have like interests, and participate in groups/forums on set topics. Both Facebook and MySpace have options for sharing news and URLs with your friends with just a simple form and a few mouse clicks. It’s a great way to encourage friends and family to pass along your URLs as well.

Occasionally we’ll ask Yovia writers to join Facebook groups to help promote a project. (Help on Facebook groups can be found here.) But you may want to use Facebook groups on your own as a way to promote your work. You can sign up for Facebook, find a relevant group, and participate in it. Sharing posts and items of interest with the group can be a great way to get exposure. Just be sure to keep it on topic and don’t abuse the space; anything that can be construed as spam will likely be overlooked, if not frowned upon. Keep in mind that Yovia only works if we foster curiosity and goodwill; neither you nor the network will benefit from spam tactics.

About spam
You can avoid spamming a site by posting a genuine comment or content of use and interest to others along with your link. For example, if you search Google for blogs with posts and themes relating to to your articles, you can comment with a link to your Yovia piece. But do so with some actual substance to your comment. Merely posting a link will be construed as spam and most likely result in deletion. If you need to brush up on your online etiquette, aka “netiquette”, a guide can be found here.

If you promote via Facebook or MySpace groups or forums, don’t “hit and run”, i.e. post once with your link and then leave the group or never take part in the group again. Your credibility increases the more you interact in any community.

Contact authors
A way to interact with authors of related material is to contact them directly and share your URLs. If you find similar blogs on Google and a contact option is given, you can send a message to the owner and suggest—in a friendly and polite fashion—that he/she check out your piece. To avoid the appearance of spam, try to make every e-mail you send to site owners a little different. An e-mail to site A should be different than an e-mail to site B. You may want to be complimentary and engaging, inviting the author into discussion with you. Do not send multiple e-mails to one author if you don’t receive a response, as that behavior may be considered spamming.