Something occured to me the other day while thinking about the importance of networking, online communities and promotions. As individuals or small organizations starting a new enterprise on the web, our focus is so geared towards getting everything set up and getting the word out there that it's not often we consider the consequences to our actions. Sometimes these consequences can be out of all proportion to the causal actions.

One of the biggest mistakes startups make is thinking that anyone cares... at least, initially. Interest in a website or service has to be built up, like trust. The Internet, and the various communities, groups and networks that inhabit it, rarely if ever welcome new websites and services with open arms. The reason for this is fairly straightforward - the web is completely awash with spam and shady concerns offering even shadier deals. After a while, communities become weary of newcomers bombarding them with unbelievable deals - they've seen it all.

Attempts to connect with new people about your new startup - no matter how genuine or well meaning - are likely to be met with indifference at best, but more likely, beligerance. What I'm saying might seem like overkill, but put yourself in the shoes of a community moderator who has to remove say 300 spam postings a day. There's simply not time to be polite and explain the rules to everyone (most of whom are actually spammers, and don't care anyway).

The real problem is that you might end up cutting yourself out of an important network or community (one which you might otherwise have happily joined or contributed to) out of exhuberance for your new endeavor. A posting like the one following can really get you in trouble:

Said advice, in response to a post like this might be something like "Go spam someone else". There's two main reasons for this:

1. You haven't offered the community anything - they don't know you or trust you so they are certainly not going to visit your site, which could be about male enhancements for all they know
2. Every single spammer out there cottoned on to the fact that they can mimick well intentioned newcomers so you are completely indistinguishable from the point of view of the community

The answer? Take some time to research and study the various online communities, forums or networks available. Be discerning - some networks are poorly moderated and allow themselves to be over-run by spam; avoid these. Remember, bigger isn't always better! Some communities allow foul language or poor behaviour - if this is not inline with your business or website's ethics then steer clear.

Once you've decided on a community to join, add a link to your website on your profile or signature and then forget about it entirely. Contribute in a meaningful way without talking about your own interests. It's frustrating, I know because you want everyone to know about what you're doing now, but in the long run this is the best way to build trust.

I always wanted to be a jedi, so how about summing up like this: