I’m pleased with how my Interview with Rae Hoffman aka “Sugarrae” went. I’m a working mother with spouse, house, pets, and lots of commitments and responsibilities. I’ve long dreamed of having my own office outside my home. Rae has achieved milestones and worked harder than most might in her set of circumstances.

On affliliate marketing, Rae states:

I see those who “get” the challenges coming up getting pretty damn sophisticated at what they do, myself included. I see those who refuse to evolve watching their checks get smaller and smaller as more time passes. I definitely see the opportunities for people who understand affiliate marketing in addition to audience development and SEO growing, even if I don’t see the number of people taking them (or who have the skills to take them) doing so.

I invite you to get to know her in Smart, Driven and Air Guitar Ready, Sugarrae, view the videos and if you’re a member, take the interview for a Sphinn.

One of the reasons Rae stands out is she speaks her mind. She, like me and many of us, may at some point say something that others disagree with. I’m becoming more and more convinced that online communication is an art form, or at least, something to be taken seriously if you want to be understood the way you intended.

This article, Putting our Hot Heads Together, by Carolyn Wood, discusses forums and blog communities and how to discuss or debate and still be civil. It’s one of the smartest articles I’ve seen on this topic. As she says, it’s more than understanding and applying basic netiquette. It’s understanding when private should remain remain private. We can ignore trolls, grumps and “people who’ve got some sort of wedgie problem goin’ on”. She writes:

Even when we disagree with the author, we don’t need to take the directly opposing view—even if the author is cruisin’ for a bruisin’. Like taco drive-ins and 401K programs, arguments in online magazines offer more than two choices. We can go for the prize behind Door Number Three: the Great Idea or small suggestion that actually moves the conversation forward, that clarifies or sharpens the points in the article and suggests an even better way—one that transcends two bitterly different views. It’s here, at the juncture of opposing opinions and a third alternative, or a fourth, that we may come closer to a truth that improves one corner of the web.

A List Apart, always a premier source of intelligent, thought provoking articles, has also released Deafness and the User Experience (Discussion at Cre8asiteforums in our Usability Forum here.)

To provide better user experiences for the Deaf, we need to stop thinking of deafness as simply the inverse of hearing—we need to understand deafness from both a cultural and linguistic perspective. Moreover, to enhance the online user experience for the deaf, we must understand how deafness influences web accessibility.

Don’t forget - The Survey For People Who Make Web Sites, which closes August 26.

With online reputation management topics being hot, this may be of interest. Blogger sued for $20 million for calling a business a “scam”.

The legal rights of bloggers are murky. What rights belong to Leslie and bloggers like her who express opinions and review products and businesses on the web? What does the First Amendment mean to bloggers and do bloggers need protection beyond the rights protected by the US Constitution?

And finally, when you Tweet, it could end up on some news site somewhere.

My 5 seconds of fame.

An old friend once told me back in 1995, “Assume that every email you send will eventually land on the lunchroom bulletin board for everyone to see.” It was great advice for email. It’s even better advice for blogs.

Miffed at someone? Kill them with words. With the Web as ammo, it’s easy to wreck someone’s job, life and reputation. Google has a great memory. Glen Allsopp wrote about three women who went off to raise a little hell at their boyfriends in A New Wave of Reputation Management Issues. He wrote:

These three women found out their partners were looking for love elsewhere, they all found their relief online. Did they find support groups or forums that could help them deal with the emotional pain? Nope.

* One started a blog about the cheat
* One edited a dating profile for her partner, adding some embarassing extras
* One “hacked” into her partners emails and humiliated him

Oh, how I’ve wanted to vent, curse, whine, scream bloody hell and verbally beat the crap out of people or companies who’ve been total jerks. What stops me? It’s so uncool to do it. Why? Because nobody can hurt you unless you let them and revenge doesn’t heal the pain. It deepens the wound.

It’s frustrating me how the Web is used as a weapon. I refuse to use it that way. It’s always been my vehicle for peace, community, knowledge share and crossing bridges.

Competition on the Web can get ugly. Signals get crossed. I lost a friend because of a disagreement over links. To me, it looked as though I wasn’t good enough to be associated with his company and I took it hard.

In a different twist, I’ve been accused of being unfriendly to people who believe I’m ignoring them. Perhaps I am. Have you offered me a reason to trust you? Do you work hard or expect free hand outs? Do you want friendship or want to use me for something? I can usually tell.

With the Web, friendships seem to develop and erode very fast. The word “Friend” online is used to loosely describe anyone who walks up to you and requests to be called your friend. I know I have some “real” friends because they’ve put up with me for years, no matter what.

Not all of my friends like each other, which is tough to deal with. On the web, we’re judged by who we associate with, who we work with, our business partners, blogrolls, and now, who we yack with on Twitter. One of my SEO friends is working her butt off trying to get my 50th birthday party worked out. I met her online. She’s been one of the most incredibly loyal, devoted, supportive friends I’ve ever had. She believes in me and has faith in my work and career. Sadly, some of my other “friends” don’t like her, with one of them going public about it.

And this is what scares me about what people can do when the Web is treated like a weapon of mass reputation destruction. If someone Googles a name and finds something harsh written about the person they’re looking up, how true is it? Is it one person’s experience or 100 people?

There’s two sides to every story.

We can’t grow if we keep throwing rocks. Granted, I can see why those women went off on their boyfriends. But, would you date a woman who hacks into her boyfriend’s email or thinks public humiliation is justified? Glen’s blog post included their pictures.

Lunchroom bulletin board.

If you’re bored, here are some interesting topics generating discussion:

Phocus, Phocus, Phocus - Was the creation of Sphinn a good strategic decision?

Why Usability is the Path to Failure

If usability is such a base level thing that everyone knows, how come so any people get it wrong? How come so many people have trouble using a site?

The Best Websites Are Useful And Ugly

I actually have a client who swears by having an ugly site helps them sell more - as it gives the appearance the products they sell online are extremely cheap.

Book Recommendation:

Why We Buy: The Science Of Shopping

I can relate to two things this weekend. First, Jeffrey Zeldman celebrates 12 years on the web. Congratulations Zeldman. You’ve always been a constant inspiration and source for web development industry information delivered with great class and an amazing ability to say volumes with few words. He writes,

The web found me and claimed me. Everything else followed. Maybe you feel that way, too.

I do.

Secondly, I learned that a friend not only loves classic VW Beetles, but has one of his own and a hobby blog called The Classic Beetle. Funny thing is, I knew from talking to Matt Bailey a few months ago that he had a car hobby site. But I didn’t connect with the subject. Had I been paying attention, I would have wanted to know much more. I’ve driven and been raised with 60’s and 70’s Beetles and there’s never been a funner car to drive. Having been in many expensive sports cars and hot numbers including my Pontiac Trans Am phase in the 1980’s, nothing has ever stood out more than the Beetles.

Matt is at the Midwest Motorworks VW FunFest this weekend. He has no idea how envious I am.

Well, I guess he will now.

Soon after learning they were chosen by Cre8asiteforums to offer a scholarship fund for their college, The Search Engine College doubled our offer by creating a second scholarship for the same amount of money.

This allowed two members of Cre8asiteforum members (not a requirement for the scholarship. That’s up to the facility to choose), to be notified today that they were chosen to participate.

Kalena Jordan announces the first winner in Cre8asiteforums Educational Scholarship Fund Selects Search Engine College

The first recipient is Elizabeth Able, Blog Editor for Cre8asiteforums blog, and owner of Ablereach.com

The second recipient is Miram Ellis-Loraditch, of Solas Web Design and SEO Igloo Blog.

We’re thrilled to be able to add a little support by encouraging education. Not to mention the fun of surprising folks with good news!