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Monday, September 3, 2012

Interview with Triberr Founder Dino Dogan

 A month or so after I joined Triberr, a site for bloggers who tweet, I first interacted with Dino Dogan, one of its two founders. As those who know me would tell you, I'm neither very tech-savvy, nor very tech-fortunate. So I got into Triberr glitches quite often-- and Dino has bailed me out each time, with compassion and good humor!
I haven't told Dino or Daniel (the other Triberr founder), but I call each of them "My Friendly  Neighborhood TriberrMan," because they come to my rescue every time I'm in Triberr-trouble. Without further ado, I bring you my chat with Dino the Triberrman:

1. How and when did you start off as a blogger?

I first started blogging on a now defunct community website for motorcycle enthusiasts. It was called 2WheelTips, and it was essentially like Facebook with lots of educational content for bikers. 

Then I started my dog blog, followed by my social media blog DIYBloggerNET.

2. Did your interest in blogging inspire you to build Triberr.com? What is Triberr all about?

It absolutely did. I always tell people that Triberr is built for bloggers, by bloggers. And I mean that. 

Here's the thing. 

1% of superstar bloggers get 99% of attention. And attention equals traffic, book deals, sales, speaking engagement, money, opportunities, etc.

Alas, superstar bloggers are not making superstar content. In fact, their content is safe, it's boring, it's regurgitated, it's just plain mediocre, at best.   

Yet they get 100s, sometimes 1000s of social media shares. Why?  

Meanwhile, there are so many amazing small bloggers writing kick-ass content that no one ever sees. 

I decided that enough is enough. Amazing bloggers writing awesome content need to be heard, and Triberr is a way of stealing attention away from 1 percenters of the blogosphere and giving it to those who actually deserve it.

3. What are the most important things to keep in mind if a blogger wants to succeed on Triberr?

It's a platform unlike any other, so it may take a while to get the hang of it. Stay with it, it's worth it. 

Tribe up with people you would invite to your house. People who's content you would share even if they never shared yours. 

Be a connector. Build your own tribes.

4. How can a new blogger kickstart his or her blog? Would Triberr work for new bloggers?

Triberr's original intent is to help new bloggers. Getting on Triberr is THE BEST way for a new blogger to get things going.

5. For bloggers who have hit a ceiling in terms of number of visitors, what is your advice to break into a higher level?

That is an excellent questions with which I struggle all the time. Here are few tricks I've successfully implemented in the past. 
I. Meet new people
As humans, we have this tendency to get comfortable with our surroundings. I try to fight that tendency, and make a point of meeting new people. In person, via social media, commenting, whatever it takes...new connections = new possibilities.
II. Interview
Get interviewed or interview others. 

One of the best online relationships I've developed is with Christian Hollingsworth. And the way it started was with an interview where he called me the Triberr MacGyver. I mean, how could you not love that?
III. Become a Source
Subscribe to HARO and become a source for news stories. 

It's a great way to get some links back to your site, and afterwards, you can use it to add credibility and social proof to your blog. 

It's how I managed to get on ReadWriteWeb as the source for a news story.

IV. Join a new Tribe
Triberr is a great way to extend and expand your circle of friends. Join a new tribe. Start a new tribe based on a new/different ideology. In short...get yourself out there.

6. What is #TribeUpNYC? Why should bloggers sign up for this event?

#TribeUpNYC is a 1-day conference for bloggers. We have 5 amazing speakers, like Geoff Livingston, who is a living legend, and Lena West, who is a dynamo in heels. 

But most importantly, #TribeUpNYC will be an opportunity to bloggers from the East Coast to meet each other face to face. Make some new connections, expose themselves to new opportunities, and have fun in the City that never sleeps.
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Dino Dogan 
Founder of Triberr Lousy Mixed Martial Artist and a recovering Network Engineer. Pretty good singer/songwriter, trainer of dogs, and a blogger of biz. Fun at parties and a global force for badassery.
 

Current Location:          New Jersey
Phone (US)                  201.403.1362
Phone (Paris)            + 33 6 51 72 50 33
Twitter Facebook Google Plus Page pinterest LinkedIn
Contact me: Google Talk dinodogan Skype dino.dogan
Latest From My Blog: You Don’t Get Paid to Speak. You Get Paid to Promote.
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This interview was brought to you by Damyanti@Amlokiblogs , a Triberr fan who has seen a boost in her blog and twitter following due to her Triberr membership, and recommends it to all lovers of blogs and blogging.

17 comments:

Jo said...

Only trouble is, I don't tweet.

Tina said...

Great interview! I have no idea what a tribe is...or what to do...but this sure makes me want to learn. Any chance for a follow-up interview with step-by-step instructions for those of who still fight with facebook (for making me have timeline) and blogger (who regularly eats my LONG, funny, well written (ahem) comments, and who inexplicably refuses to save some posts? Oh, and my email, which randomly sticks my best buddies emails in my spam folder? Sigh. Talk about technology challenged. And I'm not stupid, just kinda slow to catch on to new technology. Of course I have Jake, my almost 16 year old who will help me with anything, but the kid has the nerve to CHARGE me! But sometimes a mom gets desperate....
Tina @ Life is Good

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I've enjoyed Triberr, although I've not branched out from my own tribe yet.
I think I've hit the ceiling in terms of blog comments, but that's because I just don't have any more hours in the day in which to respond!

Marta Szemik said...

I have wanted to join Triber for a while now, but I`m afraid it will take time away from my writing. Perhaps in small steps, I could do it. Great interview!

Dino Dogan said...

thnx for giving me the opportunity to speak to your audience. you rock :-)

Arlee Bird said...

This is some great information. I love the philosophy behind all of it and this fits in with what we've been trying to do at the A to Z Challenge.

I'm getting my feet wet with Triberr. I've definitely been seeing more of my links being tweeted by more different people. I still need to explore the potential of Triberr to a greater extent. Like so many others my time expenditures are so divided that it's difficult to focus on too many different things and still fulfill other life goals. I'm slowly working on it though.

The NYC thing sounds great and I'd love to be able to do that. I attended Blogworld in L.A. in 2011 and even though I only had a floor pass it was a pretty amazing and eye-opening experience. I need that exposure to the experts since like Damyanti I am quite tech deprived. But I'm learning very slowly.

Thanks Dino for offering the info and inspiration. And thanks Damyanti for setting this up and for introducing me to Triberr (not to mention all that you add to the A to Z Challenge).


Lee
Tossing It Out

Unknown said...

Jo, there's always a way to start!

Tina, I'm thinking of doing a very basic intro to Triberr some time soon. I'll link you to it.

Alex-- triberr takes lesser time than commenting--- I sometimes suspect there's a dozen of you- you seem to be commenting everywhere! :)

Marta, it barely takes 10 minutes a day, and is quite worth it.

Dino-- thanks for speaking to us :)

Go join the NYC meet, Lee, and then you can come teach us all!



J.L. Campbell said...

Triberr has opened up my blogging content to a host of other people. I've met some good and helpful people via the tribes.

Rob Z Tobor said...

I tend to find no one is actually really that interested in what others are saying on twitter, it is all self promotion rather than communication ... and I hate that 140 character limit.

Mina Lobo said...

And here I was just thinking I could use the help of some "global force for badassery." Synchronicity, yo.

I'd not heard of Triberr but am now stoked to learn more!
Some Dark Romantic

Shannon Grissom said...

I enjoyed the interview and loved the great tips for breathing new life into one's blog.

Triber's been a great tool for me. I've met new people and it consistently adds traffic to my site.

Unknown said...

Triberr McGyver! That is just priceless.

Love the advice on breaking the ceiling for visitor numbers. I am off to check out HARO now.

Anonymous said...

Thank you, Dino and Damyanti, for sharing some insight into how Triberr started and why. I've only been on it a short while and have seen rapid and consistent viewer growth on my blog. It also inspired me to start a tribe for my niche, which has gotten me connecting more with other bloggers. The simplicity of participating on Triberr and minimal time investment is a big plus, too. It's a win all the way around!

Cally Jackson said...

Great interview. I've only been part of a tribe for a short while but I'm loving it so far!

Kesha Brown, The Uncommon Chick said...

I love Triberr and always looking for ways to grow my audience and join new tribes! I'm glad to have virtually met Dino and am happy with his Triberr creation! :-)

~Kesha

M Pax said...

Triberr has been great and a great way to make more connections. Connections are everything.

And I've met so many interesting people on Twitter.

Cheryl said...

Nice interview, Damyanti and Dino. Triberr has been a great tool for me as I am just starting out. I've met great people because of Triberr. The only limits are the limits I set on myself when I don't blog.