10 Ways You Can Help donrockwell.com For Free

[DonRocks]

Note this is posted April 2nd - it's no joke.

1) Get two or three friends to become a participating member (i.e., someone who posts). Yes, this is something of a Ponzi marketing scheme, but so what - a critical mass will be achieved in numbers, and it doesn't cost anyone anything.

2) "Like" dcdining.com on Facebook, "Follow" dcdining on Twitter, and ReTweet dcdining's Twitter posts when you see them.

3) Post in the Professionals and Businesses forum - do you have a child who mows lawns? a sister who's a physician, a best friend who's an attorney? Please write positive things about them so they can be picked up on Google.

4) If you no longer live in DC, post in The Intrepid Traveler Section about restaurants in your hometown, and perhaps even more importantly, post in the Professionals and Businesses forum about plumbers, physicians, etc. where you live. I will start an index for your city, and they'll have a virtual monopoly until others post - I cannot emphasize enough how much this "one thread per one professional" attracts Google during searches.

5) Restaurateurs, Chefs, and Managers, please advertise (for free!) in the Jobs and Employment forum about your hiring needs. If I gave you a list of area chefs whose jobs I found them, your jaws would drop.

6) Post in Blog Central whenever you see a good post written on a Blog. There is one thread per blog, and let's give these bloggers the credit they deserve - why not be a central repository where interested readers can find quality blog entires.

7) Make it a point to visit, and post about, restaurants that haven't been written about in awhile. Sometimes, I'll go to the oldest restaurant in the Restaurants and Dining forum that's still open (usually the penultimate page), just so I can post about it. This "tank-tread approach" makes things current and vibrant.

8) Dine with optimism, and search for positive aspects of your meal for posting good things about restaurants. I am an optimist by nature, and always, always go into a restaurant looking to find things to love about it. Often, they fall short, and I am honest when that happens. Please post about your meals, even if they're short posts - a short, well-written post is worth a lot to other readers, and is always much appreciated.

9) If you know anyone in Baltimore or New York, or for that matter, Philadelphia and Boston (did I just say that), or Chicago and San Francisco (did I really just say that), please contact them and tell them about donrockwell.com. They will soon have their own forums.

10) If you know of any venture capitalists, or of anyone who you feel might be interested in partnering with, or investing in, donrockwell.com, please have them get in touch with me at donrockwell at dcdining dot com. Don't make this a fleeting thought - take a moment to think who you know, and please have them get in touch with me. I'm available to talk with anyone, and remain very portable and open-minded. donrockwell.com needs to become a self-sustaining entity in order to survive.

This is a beautiful website because of its community. I'm happy to take credit for running it as a caring gardener with a light touch, allowing the flowers to bloom, but I couldn't do it alone. We all know who the brightest flowers are who make donrockwell.com a loving, caring community. Please write to them and thank them if you happen to think of it. Why not take this thought, and make it your good deed for the day? Just a 2-3 sentence note saying thank you to someone you may not even know personally.

Cheers to all, thank you, and I love everyone here very much,

Rocks

[DonRocks]

Note this is posted April 2nd - it's no joke.

1) Get two or three friends to become a participating member (i.e., someone who posts). Yes, this is something of a Ponzi marketing scheme, but so what - a critical mass will be achieved in numbers, and it doesn't cost anyone anything.

2) "Like" dcdining.com on Facebook, "Follow" dcdining on Twitter, and ReTweet dcdining's Twitter posts when you see them.

3) Post in the Professionals and Businesses forum - do you have a child who mows lawns? a sister who's a physician, a best friend who's an attorney? Please write positive things about them so they can be picked up on Google.

4) If you no longer live in DC, post in The Intrepid Traveler Section about restaurants in your hometown, and perhaps even more importantly, post in the Professionals and Businesses forum about plumbers, physicians, etc. where you live. I will start an index for your city, and they'll have a virtual monopoly until others post - I cannot emphasize enough how much this "one thread per one professional" attracts Google during searches.

5) Restaurateurs, Chefs, and Managers, please advertise (for free!) in the Jobs and Employment forum about your hiring needs. If I gave you a list of area chefs whose jobs I found them, your jaws would drop.

6) Post in Blog Central whenever you see a good post written on a Blog. There is one thread per blog, and let's give these bloggers the credit they deserve - why not be a central repository where interested readers can find quality blog entires.

7) Make it a point to visit, and post about, restaurants that haven't been written about in awhile. Sometimes, I'll go to the oldest restaurant in the Restaurants and Dining forum that's still open (usually the penultimate page), just so I can post about it. This "tank-tread approach" makes things current and vibrant.

8) Dine with optimism, and search for positive aspects of your meal for posting good things about restaurants. I am an optimist by nature, and always, always go into a restaurant looking to find things to love about it. Often, they fall short, and I am honest when that happens. Please post about your meals, even if they're short posts - a short, well-written post is worth a lot to other readers, and is always much appreciated.

9) If you know anyone in Baltimore or New York, or for that matter, Philadelphia and Boston (did I just say that), or Chicago and San Francisco (did I really just say that), please contact them and tell them about donrockwell.com. They will soon have their own forums.

10) If you know of any venture capitalists, or of anyone who you feel might be interested in partnering with, or investing in, donrockwell.com, please have them get in touch with me at donrockwell at dcdining dot com. Don't make this a fleeting thought - take a moment to think who you know, and please have them get in touch with me. I'm available to talk with anyone, and remain very portable and open-minded. donrockwell.com needs to become a self-sustaining entity in order to survive.

This is a beautiful website because of its community. I'm happy to take credit for running it as a caring gardener with a light touch, allowing the flowers to bloom, but I couldn't do it alone. We all know who the brightest flowers are who make donrockwell.com a loving, caring community. Please write to them and thank them if you happen to think of it. Why not take this thought, and make it your good deed for the day? Just a 2-3 sentence note saying thank you to someone you may not even know personally.

Cheers to all, thank you, and I love everyone here very much,

Rocks

Let's make this 11, not 10.

11) Hold doors open for people as a matter of habit. If you're in any public space, pushing or pulling open a door, don't look behind you before holding it open; just pause for a split second, with the door slightly held open, so that someone behind you may be the recipient of your momentary act of kindness. Yes, by all means, look over your shoulder while you're doing it, and if there's nobody there, let go, but your first instinct should always be to hold that door open for the split second it takes to be polite. I'm not saying to let people through before you; just hold it so it doesn't slam shut on them. Total cost: zero. Total time spent from your day: less than one second. Pretense: zero. Don't expect a thank you, don't even make eye contact if you don't want to; just do it and move on.

[Cook&Bottlewasher]

Let's make this 11, not 10.

11) Hold doors open for people as a matter of habit. If you're in any public space, pushing or pulling open a door, don't look behind you before holding it open; just pause for a split second, with the door slightly held open, so that someone behind you may be the recipient of your momentary act of kindness. Yes, by all means, look over your shoulder while you're doing it, and if there's nobody there, let go, but your first instinct should always be to hold that door open for the split second it takes to be polite. I'm not saying to let people through before you; just hold it so it doesn't slam shut on them. Total cost: zero. Total time spent from your day: less than one second. Pretense: zero. Don't expect a thank you, don't even make eye contact if you don't want to; just do it and move on.

Number 11 is a sure sign of a lady and gentleman. Aspire to be one.

[Genevieve]

9) If you know anyone in Baltimore or New York, or for that matter, Philadelphia and Boston (did I just say that), or Chicago and San Francisco (did I really just say that), please contact them and tell them about donrockwell.com. They will soon have their own forums.

How soon is it likely to happen? I can let friends in these cities know how invaluable donrockwell.com has been to me, but if I tell them too far in advance of the site adding their forums, they may not remember to go back (most being busy parents/students/etc.).

[DonRocks]

How soon is it likely to happen? I can let friends in these cities know how invaluable donrockwell.com has been to me, but if I tell them too far in advance of the site adding their forums, they may not remember to go back (most being busy parents/students/etc.).

A month, maybe?

[Genevieve]

A month, maybe?

OK, good to know - I'll have to put a reminder in the calendar, because I shouldn't tell them a month in advance. But very exciting to have dr forums in other cities!

[Rhone1998]

One thing I try to do that's not on the list above is to mention to restaurateurs when I hear about their place from this website. To me, a big part of what makes this such an interesting community is the participation by restaurant patrons on the one hand, and owners/chefs/managers etc on the other.

Still, too often I'm met with blank stares when I say "donrockwell.com", so I keep spreading the gospel.

[DonRocks]

One thing I try to do that's not on the list above is to mention to restaurateurs when I hear about their place from this website. To me, a big part of what makes this such an interesting community is the participation by restaurant patrons on the one hand, and owners/chefs/managers etc on the other.

Still, too often I'm met with blank stares when I say "donrockwell.com", so I keep spreading the gospel.

Definitely helps! We've never done any type of marketing, and I'm ready to take the next step (just need to figure out exactly what that's going to be).