HowTo Thank Bloggers and FOSS Developers
If you are someone who is looking for fame and fortune, blogging or developing free and open source software (FOSS) are probably not appropriate career paths for you. In a lot of ways these can be very thankless jobs!
But, what if you are on the other end of the relationship? If you receive a benefit from the efforts of a blogger or a FOSS developer, what can you do to show your appreciation? It is, after all, in your best interest for these people to be happy and enjoy working on their blog or FOSS project because this will encourage them to continue doing it. And, you will continue to benefit from their efforts in the future.
I have compiled a list of ways that you can thank these hard working individuals so that they will continue to produce their excellent products.
Literally Say “Thanks!”
It sounds almost too simple but sometimes that is all it takes! You could:
I always love it when I get a thank you e-mail from a reader. The nice things about this are that the are easy to do, costs little or nothing and are always appreciated!
Write About Them
Everyone loves to see their name in print. We all have access to some type of media where we can mention these outstanding people and give them some well deserved recognition. Some places where you can write about them include:
- Your website or blog
- Web forums
- Blog comments
- Newsgroups
- Social networking sites (e.g. Digg, Reddit, del.icio.us, etc.)
- Print media (e.g. letters to the editors)
Some of you may even be writers for newspapers and magazines. Write articles about them specifically or mention them in passing in one of your articles.
I always get a thrill when someone has written about Daily Cup of Tech.
Link to Them
If you are on the Internet (which I am assuming you are because you are reading this), then you have the ability to link to their website. Linking to the person’s website is very important to them because it is through these links that their blog or software gains popularity. When you are taking the time to write about them (see previous entry) in a digital media format, make sure you put a link to their website so everyone can also reap the benefits.
It has been really cool to see how the links to Daily Cup of Tech have grown since it was started back in September, 2006.
Support Financially
Everyone has bills to pay, even people who work for free! For example, some of the regular expenses that Daily Cup of Tech incurs include:
- web hosting (which threatens to go through the roof at any time)
- internet access
- domain name registration
- computer hardware and software
- research material (e.g. books, etc.)
These things can all really add up quite quickly. Some ways that you can support them financially include:
- Donate money (e.g. You can donate to DCoT via PayPal)
- Purchase advertisements (DCoT uses Performancing Partners, Text Link Ads, Feedburner and Google Adsense.)
- Sponsor their website
- Buy them products from their wish list (E.g. I would like tech books and software)
- Buy them gift cards at places such as Amazon.com and GiveAnything.com
- Purchase products that they may be selling
- Collect donations for them on your website
Support Advertisers and Sponsors
If you are in the market for a product that an advertiser is selling, use the link on the blog or FOSS developer’s website. This can provide some extra residual income.
Also, let the advertiser know that you visited their website or purchased their product because of a link on the blog or website. This will encourage the advertiser to continue advertising with that website.
Talk About Them
Just like you can write about these people, you can also talk about them. Become an unofficial salesperson for the blog or product.
Some ways you can help spread the word about these projects include:
- Tell friends
- Mention them in a podcast
- Uses them as illustrations when making presentations
- If the project generates software, keep a copy of it with you to give away
You may even want to go as far as I have a create a business card with a list of all your 10 favorite blogs and FOSS projects on it!
Get Involved
One of the major things that blogs and FOSS projects have in common is too much work and not enough time. There is always something that needs to be done. Many projects and blogs are more than happy to accept volunteers who are willing to help out.
You could:
- Write documentation
- Translate to a different language
- Contribute posts (DCoT does that) to blogs
- Develop code for open source projects
- Answer questions and provide tech support in forums
I am really excited with some of the upcoming articles that the new DCoT contributors are putting out! Their involvement is going to really make a difference at DCoT.
Keep Coming Back
There are few things more important to a webmaster than traffic. One of those few things is repeat traffic. If you really want to help make a blogger or FOSS developer happy, come back to his/her website again and again and again and…
Some really easy ways to do this are:
- Regularly check for updates
- Subscribe to RSS feeds
- Sign up for a newsletter
- Sign up for notification of website changes or monitor the website
- Make their website your homepage
Other Random Acts of Kindness
Some other ideas that don’t really fit into any category:
- Make a donation to your favorite charity in their name (but make sure the charity is real first)
- Make a bumper sticker with their website address and put it on your car
- Make a Thank You video and post it on YouTube
Conclusion
These are just some ideas that I have put together. I’m sure that there are several other ways that people can show how appreciative they are to these hard working people. If you have some more ideas, please feel free to add them to the comments.
Now, go out there and make someone’s day!
If you found this post useful, why don't you buy me a cup of coffee to show your gratitude?
