I don’t usually write self-promotional posts because the material here can speak for itself. But, with the increase in readership over the last few years, I’ve decided it’s time to give a refresher on ways to interact with what is here and how you can get the word to others.

  1. Comment on the blog: Others may disagree, but I find it valuable for readers to engage right here. Conversation elsewhere, like on Facebook and Twitter, is also appreciated, but doing so naturally excludes readers who do not use those forums.
  2. Email: if you find an article that a friend, relative, neighbor, or enemy should read, then send him/her that specific link, and please, provide some context. We all want to know what we are going to click on when we are at work. To link to a specific article, click on the title of the post and then copy and paste the URL.
  3. Follow my blog with Bloglovin or on Google Reader, or other similar sites if you are inclined to use them. Sometimes the formatting gets lost, but you can always click on posts that interest you, taking you back to the actual blog. (You can “+1” something on Google+, but this seems redundant with what Google Reader already offers.)
  4. Follow us on Networked Blogs or become a fan on Facebook. On Facebook, there are sometimes previews of what will be coming up in the next week or so. You are also invited to share links to articles using your personal Facebook account, or with groups you belong to there. LinkedIn offers similar sharing possibilities.
  5. You can follow Real Hartford on Twitter or tweet the link to a post you think others should read. To do the latter, just click on “comments.” Right above the comment box you will see a row of icons, including one for tweeting. This is also where you can “stumble” a post, adding it to Stumbleupon, as well as add it to Digg.
  6. Link to Real Hartford from your own site or blog. The blogroll on this site indicates a lot of what I read.
  7. Bookmark it. You know when you are killing time waiting for dinner to finish cooking and you want to show your date something hilarious/wrong that you read/watched on YouTube during the day, but you can not remember what it was now that you have an audience? Avoid that through the magic of bookmarking.
  8. Word of mouth. If you know someone who has a local-to-Hartford story or event, have him/her contact me.
  9. Join our mailing list
  10. Don’t steal our stuff — text, photos, or otherwise! Ask permission first!

Thanks to those who are already doing any of these things, and a thanks in advance to readers who may begin to do so.