Use Del.icio.us to Promote Your Cause
Del.icio.us (http://del.icio.us) is a social bookmarking tool and website. Over one million del.icio.us users have added a feature to their internet browsers that enables them to conveniently bookmark webpages and tag them with keywords. These bookmarks are then accessible via a personal webpage at del.icio.us as well as to other del.icio.us users who conduct searches at the del.icio.us website or browse through the tag categories.
The Del.icio.us Popular Page and Hotlist
Del.icio.us nirvana is to get your website listed on the del.icio.us Popular page (http://del.icio.us/popular/) or on the del.icio.us Hotlist, which appears on the del.icio.us home page. A single listing on either of these pages can bring thousands of visitors to your website. More importantly, many bloggers and webmasters rely on del.icio.us for content ideas, so a featured del.icio.us listing generally results in dozens or even hundreds of spin-off links on websites and blog posts during the following weeks. These links will improve your search engine ranking and bring even more traffic to your website.
How to Get Featured at Del.icio.us
Amongst your current volunteers, organize an online "social action team" of internet users that already use del.icio.us. The goal is to recruit a team of people who have been using del.icio.us for months or years. You'll need at least several hundred people on this team to be effective.
Encourage your social action team to continue their active participation on del.icio.us, bookmarking a wide variety of sites that suit their individual interests. Then (and only occasionally) send an email to your social action team asking them to bookmark one of your recently created or updated webpages. If your social action team is very large, send the bookmark request to only a random portion of the list. Over time, you'll learn how many members of your social action team need to receive your email request in order for one of your webpages to be featured on Digg's Hotlist or Popular page.
It's also helpful to seek allies among the top del.icio.us users. To find kindred spirits among the influential users, monitor the tag postings that are related to your mission. For example, if your organization seeks to share information about global warming, monitor the tags: "environment" (http://del.icio.us/tag/environment), "global warming" (http://del.icio.us/tag/globalwarming), "activism" (http://del.icio.us/tag/activism), and any other related terms.
On the right of each tag page, you will see a list of "active users." Add these active users to your network, especially the users who have large networks of their own. They may choose to reciprocate by adding you to their network, or they may keep you as a "fan." If you are added to their network, your bookmarks will show up on their network page, improving your chances of making it to the Digg Hotlist. If you are kept as a "fan," you may want to contact the del.icio.us user by email and offer to share your bookmarks, by being added into his network. It is often possible to find a user's contact information if he includes a personal link on his del.icio.us bookmark page.
