I would like to introduce you to a new segment I will have each week entitled, “Vic The Blogging Grinch”. Basically what this entails is a simple thought from Vic, a founder of BloggingZoom.com. A lot of people love Vic, and a lot of people hate him too. Most of this is because He tells it like it is. No sugar coating, nor watering down so you can take it nicely. He will tell you what you need to hear many times, and other times what you hate to hear.

With that in mind Vic has agreed to do a short segment each week which involves one thought I am given. I think that harsh reality can be good for us all sometimes, and Vic can brutally give it to you. Many times it is going against the grain, and I am sure I will not always agree, but this is where the debating begins.

Everyone is their own person and has the ability to say as they please. Keep in mind though that you may receive some criticism and it will be posted for all to read.Don’t always expect the worse. Vic will I am sure mention some things that most all of us can agree on. But with that being said, I hope for some in depth discussions and positive things from it. This is an experiment and I or Vic may decide at any point to discontinue it. I hope you all enjoy it as it will be a weekly thing.

Matt Moran is a really nice guy. I met him through his friend Ted Sheets. Also a founder of Zelixy.com, a green friendly and proactive website. These guys are a positive bunch let me tell you. And the site they have reflects that. Without further ado heres our interview.

Justin: What is Zelixy?

Matt: Zelixy is a grassroots social network. Most of our users largest passion of the time is the green movement. So right now we are focused on empowering our users to actually do something on the internet that does some social good rather than just enjoying the latest funny videos. Also in the spirit of our grassroots strategy we have decided to give half of our advertising revenue to 10 charities that our users pick.

Justin: When was the site started?

Matt: We have been in open beta for about 6-8 months now.

Justin: What has inspired you to make a site like this?

Matt: There are a few things that have inspired us. For one, being part of the generation that has really gotten to use and benefit from the web. Ted and I have always been excited about the potential for not just entertainment, but actual potential to create great change using the power of the people connected by these networks. We were tired of how tawdry myspace and youtube have become and felt that we could do much better if we listened to our users.

Justin: What future plans do you have for the site?

Matt: Well just finishing our core system for one. Revising menu and contest system future projects include really pushing our contest platform. This is a unique part of our site that enables anybody to create a contest for whatever purpose they want, similar to Heinz and Doritos commercials that have been developed by user generated video contests.

Justin: Can you tell us any ways that you have marketed the site thus far?

Matt: We have been focused solely on product development, however the viral nature of social networks has served us well. In the last week we had great success with our 1st attempts to promote on Digg. It showed that with minimal effort we can really get a lot of attention. It’s really a testament to our time spent on making the site great. Not done yet, but maturing nicely.

Justin: What piece of advice can you give to those that will be reading this interview?

Matt: Be happy and do your best. We are living in times of great opportunity.
Social networks can be the first global community allowing us to truly address global issues.

Justin: Well thanks for your time and it has been an enjoyable experience to talk to you. I wish you the best and we look forward to taking a part in the site.

Matt: The pleasure was all mine.

I must say this was a great interview. My personal thoughts on the site after talking to Matt is that this site will Succeed. There are several reasons why I believe this to be. It puts users first, the guys backing it are positive about what they do and are self motivated, and because they support and feed off of each others ambitions and positivity to keep the site going in the right direction.

If you haven’t checked the site out yet I suggest you do and see what these guys are doing. Visit Zelixy.com

I had the pleasure of being able to interview a Guy that has inspired many and has helped many to get on the road to success with his tips on blogging and internet marketing. Many of you know him by the name behind the blog, courtneytuttle.com. So here’s how the interview went.

Justin: “When did you first start blogging Courtney?”

Court: “I started in February, 2007.”

Justin: “When bloggers begin they seem to fade out over a period of time. When you first started blogging what was your motivation to keep it up after days and even months followed? Was it easy?”

Court: “I definitely wouldn’t say that it was easy. I think that the advantage that I had is that I had already established some successful sites. Even though I was new to blogging I already understood what it would take to start getting traffic. Finding the motivation wasn’t that hard for me because I knew that success would come.”

Justin: If you could go back and change one thing with your online ventures such as blogging, marketing etc… what would it be?

Courtney: “I would have created one big site from the beginning. I started by creating a whole bunch of smaller sites and that becomes really hard to manage. The upside of having a big site that becomes popular is much larger than having a network of smaller ones. If I started right now, I would pick the right site and work on it. I would forget about expanding to other sites.”

Justin: “How do you balance your time with family and friends as opposed to your blogging and other online activities?”

Court: “I pretty much treat it like a job. I wake up, go for a run, and then work on my blogging. Even though this isn’t how I would do it if I started over, I have a few sites that I’m working on. I usually work for about six hours a day on them. After that, I usually hit the gym and chill with friends for the rest of the night.”

Justin: “Where do you see blogging in the next 3 years from now?”

Courtney: “It will definitely grow a lot. Blogging is probably the easiest way to develop an online presence, and people will continue to get into it. I think it will become a lot less personal though. A lot more people will see blogging as a viable business model, and that will probably take some of the personal aspects out of it.”

Justin: “Your blog is about helping people with internet marketing and making money with a blog and I have found some really great information within it. Did you get the help you needed when you first started blogging and marketing, and are there any inspirations that stick out to you?”

Courtney: “When I first started, I was working at an internet marketing firm where I had a really good trainer that taught me a lot. I would say that most of the knowledge I have comes from experience though. I’ve experimented a lot with the internet, and because of that I get what works and what doesn’t. I’m not the kind of person that looks for help from outside sources, I’m willing to take risks and experiment on my own to find what works and what doesn’t.

Justin: “What one brutally honest question should any blogger ask him or herself?”

Courtney: “That’s a great question. I think they have to ask themselves if they would do anything to make their blog successful. Most people think that they would, but the truth is that they won’t. Most won’t work for a year when the money isn’t there. Most won’t step out of their comfort zones to build relationships with elite bloggers. It takes a lot of determination to make it by blogging, and most people need to ask themselves if they are really willing to put in the time and pay the price.

Justin: “Had to throw a little more personal question in here somewhere. So a little off topic, what is your favorite thing to do when your away from your computer?”

Courtney: “I really like to travel. Not everyone knows that I sometimes take entire weeks off to get out of town. Blogging makes it nice because I can do the work in advance and get out of here for as long as I want.”

Justin: “And the last question. When looking at my blog what do you see that could improve it?”

Courtney: “You should add a most popular posts area to your blog. That gives people somewhere to start and go from there.

Justin: “Well thanks Courtney for interviewing with me. this has been a great experience.

Court: “Your welcome.

Interviewing Courtney has taught me several things about blogging and internet marketing. Everyone has to start somewhere, and sometimes its good to go back to a successful persons beginnings and see that they weren’t always getting lots of traffic. Courtney has been making his mark in the online world and still is. It’s not done through just ideas alone. But because He’s persistent, He is willing to take risks and best of all He’s a helpful person. I would recommend checking his site out and definitely subscribing to his feed. There is a wealth of information to read. Check it out at courtneytuttle.com.