Twitter now has some competition on its hands. There is a new micro-blogging website called Tipdrop.com that was created by John Ledger earlier this year. Tipdrop is very similar to Twitter, but Tipdrop allows you to use 255 characters with each message you post, rather than 140 as with Twitter.

The layout for both blogging platforms is very similar. They both utilize a two column layout with messages appearing in the wider left-hand column, and the user’s information appearing in the narrower right-hand column. However, Tipdrop allows you to include up to ten URL links as part of your profile. Those links appear in the right-hand column of your Tipdrop homepage.

Both focus on different questions that appear at the top of the main page. Twitter asks the famous self-centered, “What are you doing?” Tipdrop, on the other hand, doesn’t care what you are doing right now, but wants to know, “What do you know about that?”

Tipdrop is developing a character all of its own by focusing on what you know rather than what you do. This is completely different from the gossipy triviality of Twitter. By sharing knowledge about specific topics, each contribution is focused outward on the topic, rather than inward on the person posting the information.

The tips shared on Tipdrop are then organized into categories, such as Arts & Humanities, Dining Out, Personal Development and so on. When a tip is posted, you are presented with similar threads to assist you in finding the best place to post your tip. If there are no threads that cover your topic, you simply post it as a new thread.

People are able to vote tips up and down. Also, every member of Tipdrop is assigned an initial credibility ranking of 100. The more a member contributes to Tipdrop, and the more votes a member receives for their tips, the higher their credibility ranking. There are links to the User Rankings list with links to user pages of each member in the Site Links section of the home page.

The ability to vote on tips means that the overall quality of Tipdrop is likely to rise over time.

First of all, any marketer who blatantly promotes his or her own business will get punished by other members who will quickly vote down any contribution that is merely self-promotional. This helps ensure the overall quality of contributions made to the site and is a good thing.

However, internet marketers still have plenty of room to build up a reputation and brand themselves on Tipdrop. This can be done simply by offering a regular supply of high-quality tips that other members will appreciate. As you post more tips and your credibility rises, you will enjoy increasing exposure on Tipdrop. More people will check out your own page and click your links. So, by making a positive contribution to Tipdrop, you will also be quietly promoting your own business and yourself as an expert in your particular field.

Another neat feature of Tipdrop is that it comes with an Adsense revenue sharing system. If you have an Adsense account, all you need to do is enter your Adsense publisher ID in the appropriate field on the Settings page. Then, whenever people click on the ads that appear on your pages, Tipdrop will give you 75% of the generated revenue.

Tipdrop.com is easy to join. Just like joining Twitter, it is simply a matter of hitting the Sign Up button on the home page and filling in a short online form with your name, username, password and e-mail address. And, just like Twitter, it is 100% free.

I doubt that Tipdrop will completely replace Twitter, because despite the similarities, they have different intentions behind them. However, what already seems obvious is that Tipdrop is a micro-blogging website that is set to grow and grow and become a leading source of online tips and advice across a wide range of categories.

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For more information about how to start a home business and get a Recession Proof Business with Internet Work from Home Ideas and Opportunities at http://www.malcolmleyshon.com you will find a wide range of tried and tested ideas including a daily newsletter and a free 325 page e-book.

For anyone who gets involved in an internet home based business, one of the first things that they are taught to do in order to build a successful online business is to get a website, a blog and an auto-responder. In fact these three things are the most important tools when starting an internet business.

What we are going to discuss here is ways to get your list building and blogging activities to synchronize in such a way that your marketing efforts will support both these activities at the same time. In other words, your blog will support your list building and your list building will support your blog.

Let’s begin by looking at how you can use your blog as a way to build your list.

When setting up your blog make sure that you add an opt-in box to your auto-responder and place it in a prominent position where your visitors will see it on arrival at your blog. Near to the top and either on the left or right hand side is good. You could offer a free report or e-book as an inducement to sign up to your list.

Whenever you make a new post to your blog, sign off with your name and a link to your squeeze page. Encourage your visitors to sign up to your list so that they will be notified every time you make a new post on your blog.

Another way that you can promote your blog is by inviting people to comment on your blog posts. The advantage for them is that their comments can link back to their websites when they enter the URL field on the comment form.

If your business is internet marketing then make posts about this and teach your subscribers about the benefits and etiquette of commenting and linking back to their sites from the blog comments. Make sure that they understand that spamming is not an option.

Whenever you make a new post about something controversial or a review on a product or service, email your list and ask them to give you their opinions on whatever you have blogged about and include a link to your blog post.

You should see a significant increase in traffic to your site from your email list if your post is well targeted and also a big increase in the number of comments that you get to each article.

Offer your readers the opportunity of using your posts on their own blogs provided they include a link back to your site and acknowledge you as the author of that post. Also submit your articles or posts to other peoples’ blogs for possible inclusion on their sites. Invite your email list to submit articles for possible inclusion on your blog with a link back to their sites and inform them of how guest blogging will help to increase their own profiles on the internet. This will help to keep your blog loaded with fresh content at all times.

By adding these tactics to your list building and blogging efforts you will be creating a well synchronized and effective marketing strategy for your internet home based business.

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If you enjoyed this article by Michelle Jayes then visit her website http://www.online-income-business.com for more ideas and online opportunities and sign up for her free newsletter