I joined Basket Chat!

I just recently heard about an online discussion forum called Basket Chat. One of my close partners hinted to me that I should check it out. It is great! It's well organized, fun, direct and will be a great way to learn, vent and participate with other members in the industry. You might just want to check it out. The website is www.basketchat.com.

On another subject, I know its hard to balance all of these social networking activities. GBA has an online Google Group, there is GB Exchange, Basket Chat, Facebook, Twitter, etc. and on top of all of that, a lot of us enjoy blogging too. If I could just make a recommendation to you. It's important to maintain quality and participation to all of these areas.

Develop a "spin"
You might want to consider spending just 30 minutes a day doing what I call a "spin". My spin includes hitting a list of 15 different locations and at a minimum reviewing whats going on and posting where it makes sense. That means I have under 2 minutes in each location and I have to admit, I don't always hit all of them and sometimes spend more than 2 minutes but it keeps me focused and it makes sure that at least daily, I'm staying involved.

Only post if you have something substantial to say.
Think about how you could add value to a particular thread. Validating, resonating and showing involvement are important but I recommend keeping a healthy balance between good content and socializing.

Stay involved.
Don't forget about it. As you do these activities, your gaining credibility. Post with quality and share.

Keep a high level of integrity.
If you're not sure if you should say it, don't say it. Don't risk hurting someone's feelings by making statements that they might read, especially if they don't deserve it. We're in a fun industry, there shouldn't be something so outlandishly confidential that you can't say it. I mean, really, we aren't the FBI!