If you are like me, and you are already getting into Mixx, you probably also have discovered that the site is a lot of fun, and there's some great content there. What’s more: the community is outstanding and very dedicated to the site.
So, maybe you have been checking out Mixx for a while - voting and commenting; or even just reading - and perhaps you have wondered about exactly how one becomes a "SuperMixxer". The answer lies in being an active member of the community. Perhaps you are already, but you've yet to make your own submission or post to Mixx.
Although the title of this post is "How to become a SuperMixxer", perhaps consider this an informal guide on how to start making submissions at Mixx.com; with some suggestions, ideas, tips, and so on. Here's how you can get into making posts to Mixx, and how to get those stories noticed by other users; so that you eventually can become a SuperMixxer!
Mixxing and Commenting - Responsibly:
First and foremost, if you want your stories to get noticed, you need to be seen. Participate in voting as frequently as you can, but be sure to avoid "blind voting" (the act of voting on a story without reading the actual article). Involve yourself in thoughtful (or humorous) commenting as often as you can, but avoid making comments reminiscent of just "awesome", or replying to someone with something like, "Right on, I agree" (you can use the Give Kudos link for those kinds of reactions). Also, the best location to make comments is in the On Deck section where your comment will be closer to the top of the page.
Do not troll:
This one is self explanatory, but it is highly recommended you avoid making offensive, controversial, or flame-baiting remarks. Not only do you look like an asshat for doing so, but you will end up getting reported. If you troll, you have less of a chance of giving other Mixxers those "warm-fuzzies" that will make them want to follow you and your submissions. The best advice is to develop yourself a positive reputation with other users; this will help you in getting your posts noticed.
Choose your target sites:
Back in the day, as I was preparing to actually start posting stories to social media web sites, I began constructing a list of my "target sites". These would be the sites I would single out and target for specific articles, videos, and pictures. Your best bet for this is to choose sites that you frequently visit for news, information, or entertainment, that are popular, but that you may not have often seen on Mixx. One example I can give you is the comic book films news site, SuperHeroHype.com. I infrequently saw a story from there at Mixx, but I used to check the site regularly for the latest in the galaxy of geekdom. SuperHeroHype became one of my "target sites" when I was posting articles; though I would often find myself posting links to their original sources (more on posting original sources in a bit).
Get fed with feeds:
RSS feeds are almost certainly the best friend a Mixxer could ever have. Go to your target sites, and see if they offer a feed. Subscribe to it and check it on a regular basis; and be sure to submit anything new that may be of interest to users. It can be persuasive to add a lot of feeds at once, but I would recommend starting with only a few to commence with, and then build up from there. Check out this great article by Honest_Ape for more info on RSS Feeds. It can also be helpful to see websites that bring together feeds from other social news and social bookmarking sites, such as doggdot.us, PopURLs, Reddiggulo.us, and NetVibes.
Speaking of PopURLs:
PopURLs.com has become my first base for selecting items to submit. The reason for this is that the site lists what is currently popular at other sites such as Digg, Delicious, Reddit, Fark, StumbleUpon, Newsvine, and Propeller among many, many others. Basically, the philosophy is that if a story does well at Digg (for example), it stands to reason that it may do well at Mixx as well. Use sites like PopURLs to your advantage: there is always outstanding content there to choose from!
Did that link just make you laugh, or make you say WTF?
Your reaction is a key indicator as to whether you should submit something. So you watched a funny video on YouTube, and it made you piss your pants with laughter, right? Submit it! Seriously - if you found it hilarious, share it by submitting it to Mixx. Did you read something that made your brain go pop to the point you said "WTF" out loud? Submit it! Did you react by saying or thinking something along the lines of, "Holy crap, that was cool!"? You guessed it: submit that!
Register for alerts:
Another handy tool is in subscribing to newsletters and news alerts from web sites. Your best sources for this are your target sites, as well as news services such as CNN that have Breaking News e-mail tools. It is another resource you can tap into when looking for articles to submit. But it does not necessarily have to be news. For example, I subscribe to an IT newsletter that deals with technologies being used and developed on university campuses across the United States. It suits the job I am currently working in, and every so often, they will publish an article, listed in their newsletter, that may be of interest to Mixxers. While some people cannot stand e-mail newsletters, as a person that posts articles to Mixx on a daily basis, I find them to be a valuable tool.
Post daily, and SuperMixxer status WILL come to you:
Some people might get a little frustrated that they haven’t reached SuperMixxer status yet. Persistence and patience always pays off; so if you are determined to get noticed as an active Mixxer, put yourself in the practice of submitting, as a minimum, one or two links a day. Your patience will pay off.
Go for the original:
I am partial to sites like Engadget and Blabbermouth; but often they will not be the primary story source. Usually sites like these will post the link to where the original article came from. It is best practice to post that original link, rather than the blog or site you first saw it at. This occurrence is often referred to as "blogspam", and is usually the incidence of a story that is often a simple paragraph with one link to the original news source. The worst offenders for issues like this have been video blogspam: submissions of someone’s blog with a single YouTube video embedded with no other added information. Post the original YouTube link! Another example I could use is one of my "target sites" called ShortNews.com. Short News receives user-submitted stories that have an original news source link. I will explore the site, see if there's any article that may be of interest to Mixx users, and then check out the original news source. From that point, I will post the original story, rather than the Short News link. In short, where possible, go for the original.
Stumbling upon something that grabs your attention:
Newbie submitters will often ponder where exactly they are going to get their source stories from. Sometimes, however, you need not look any further than your own web surfing behavior (with the exception of pr0n, of course!). If you come across something you find interesting online, there is a decent chance that someone else might find it of interest. If so, submit it to Mixx. The same applies if you get a remarkable informational e-mail. I am not talking about the old e-mail forwards about "Amazing Real Facts" you still get from Grandma Josie that you were getting back in 1998. But if you get an out of the ordinary article in your e-mail, Google it to see if it's online somewhere, and then check its authenticity over at Snopes. Also using the StumbleUpon toolbar can be advantageous in finding interesting sites, web pages and articles that may be worthy of submitting to Mixx.
Informational Articles, Lists, and Tutorials:
Aside from news, photos, and videos, there are many Mixxers who are just literally hungry for information. For as long as I have been a member of Mixx, members love checking out articles that are more informational in nature; it is part of the continuing learning experience, so to speak. So interesting, unusual or informational posts such as 74 Tips to keep your car in top-notch condition and How to buy a cheap airline ticket in first class can turn into be popular submissions. Lists (Top 10's etc.) are always voted as well, so if you come across one, go ahead and post it. Links to handy online tools are also popular. Finally, tutorials are useful to Mixxers as well, especially with regards to graphic design (Photoshop and the GIMP) and web design (CSS and HTML).
The Title of your Story:
Creating the right title for your post is a huge part of attracting the attention of other Mixxers. For news articles you have come across, for the most part it is pretty acceptable to copy-and-paste the title already set to the story by the original writer. But often, it works to your advantage if you supply your own title. At first, this may be a little intimidating, but with time and practice, you will find you will get better at it. Using light-hearted humor in your title can, every now and then, be helpful, but don't over-rely on this technique: we are talking about Mixx here, not Fark.
Descriptions - The Title Does NOT Always Say It All:
The description of your story is just as important as the title. As with the title, using witty and humorous descriptions can be effective from time to time; but avoid relying too much on this technique. For news articles, it is usually acceptable to copy-and-paste the opening paragraph of the story as it usually is an accurate introductory explanation of the article's main details. Where possible though, highlight the key points of the post that stand out to you, or that you deem to be the most important. If at all feasible, try and avoid using the phrase, "Title says it all". Only in rare occurrences does this happen to be the case.
Using Tags - it IS important!
Tags are a great categorization tool at Mixx; and many of my fellow friends at Mixx have accurately coined me as "the tagaholic". Addictions aside, tags are important to each and every Mixx submission - as they make the content searchable. The easier to find your post is; then the more attention it will receive; so use tags! If you struggle with thinking up of a few tags, just grab a few keywords from the story. Alternatively, use one of my favorite sites: TagLovers.com; it is a very handy resource!
Choosing the right category:
Deciding on what subject area best suits your submission can either be very easy or tedious. Attempt to match your story to the "right" category as best you can. At Mixx, you have the choice of selecting up to 8 categories. Best practice would be to try and select 4-6... do not think you must select 8 - sometimes even selecting just ONE will be just fine.
Multipage stories - post the "1-page" link where possible:
One of the more common complaints I see at a variety of social media sites is when a submission is a story that is spread across an insane amount of pages. Web sites repeatedly do this to get more of a chance for the odd click on one of their ads, and it can be exasperating. More often than not, some of these sites will have a link to the "story on one page", or even better, a "printable page" link that will have the full article on one page without the ads. It is good practice to post the one-page version of the story; or you can submit the link as is, and add a comment on your story with a link to the article on one page. When members of the Mixx Army see this, they appreciate that you have taken the time to help them avoid an aggravating 57 page article that could have been on one; and these efforts DO get noticed.
Do not laugh, but fanboys can be helpful. No, seriously:
Mixx has its share of geeks, and every geek is a fanboy of some kind, even though most might not admit it. Despite this, the site has Linux fanboys, Obama fanboys, Star Wars fanboys (I'm one of those)... and so on. A large amount of these people are very passionate about their chosen obsession that they will absorb and vote on anything that has something to do with their favorite topic. If you happen upon something that fits into one of the fanboy "subjects", go ahead and post the link to Mixx. It does not have to be news: it might be something entertaining, or a lengthy article that might generate some interesting discussion in the comments. Just make sure you tag it with the main keyword, because many of these fanboys have their chosen obsession added to their "Your Mixx" page (yes, I have added the 'starwars' tag to mine!). If you tag it, they WILL see it!
Using the Friends Feature:
Making use of this tool at Mixx is essential in getting your stories noticed. Firstly, it might be tempting to go out and follow as many friends as you can, but this isn't MySpace, comrade (or FriendMeNow.com for that matter!). Mixx friends work a little differently: if you follow a friend, you will see their submissions in your friends section; but they may not see yours. The people who have chosen to follow you will see your stories. By following others, they may follow you; and this is essential if you would like your content to be noticed.
Mixxing Each Other:
As you start growing a healthy-sized friends list, it is a good idea to have a look at what stories your friends are posting to Mixx. At first, it may be tempting to just scroll through the list and mechanically vote everything submitted... but I would strongly advise against it. Many active Mixxers (as well as the Mixx staff) keep an eye out for "blind voting" - and there can be repercussions. For example, if you blindly vote on a spam submission that eventually gets culled, you WILL be docked Karma points. Your best bet is to scroll through the list of articles submitted by your friends, and take a look at the ones that have the most votes or the most comments; and the ones that interest you. Take the time to read the stories, and comment on them. Your friends will notice this, especially on stories that may not make the popular page; and it's often appreciated that someone has essentially taken the time to check out such a story.
Using a Mixx It Up button:
If you are posting your own site's material, using a Mixx It Up button can be quite helpful. By doing so, you are giving Mixx more exposure, which can only help the community grow even further. Mind you, as a side note, if you submit your own material from your own site, ensure it is not the ONLY thing you are posting. If you want to get a story noticed, the best way is to be a proactive member: this means submitting articles other than just your own, as well as commenting on other stories. One more thing: if your own material could be perceived as blogspam, avoid submitting it. On the other hand, if someone else finds it of value, they might just post it for you.
Also: HAVE FUN
Mixx is not a contest. My personal opinion is that if you are trying to shoot to be the "number one Mixxer", not only are you probably at the wrong site; you're also setting an unrealistic goal. Keep it fun, and if it's taking you a long while to get to SuperMixxer status, do not let it get you down... it just takes time, and patience.
Finally: The Bowl and the Blend:
Another helpful resource for Mixxing is MixxingBowl.com. There is a message forum there that is regularly visited by Mixx staff, and all the members of the board are quite close online friends. MixxingBowl.com also hosts the podcast Social Blend, which often hosts some helpful tips - and highlights recent outstanding submissions to Mixx. So step on it, and join us - and get Mixxing!
If you are like me, 
This one is self explanatory, but it is highly recommended you avoid making offensive, controversial, or flame-baiting remarks. Not only do you look like an asshat for doing so, but you will end up getting reported. If you troll, you have less of a chance of giving other Mixxers those "warm-fuzzies" that will make them want to follow you and your submissions. The best advice is to develop yourself a positive reputation with other users; this will help you in getting your posts noticed.
I am partial to sites like Engadget and Blabbermouth; but often they will not be the primary story source. Usually sites like these will post the link to where the original article came from. It is best practice to post that original link, rather than the blog or site you first saw it at. This occurrence is often referred to as "
Creating the right title for your post is a huge part of attracting the attention of other Mixxers. For news articles you have come across, for the most part it is pretty acceptable to copy-and-paste the title already set to the story by the original writer. But often, it works to your advantage if you supply your own title. At first, this may be a little intimidating, but with time and practice, you will find you will get better at it. Using light-hearted humor in your title can, every now and then, be helpful, but don't over-rely on this technique: we are talking about Mixx here, not 
Deciding on what subject area best suits your submission can either be very easy or tedious. Attempt to match your story to the "right" category as best you can. At Mixx, you have the choice of selecting up to 8 categories. Best practice would be to try and select 4-6... do not think you must select 8 - sometimes even selecting just ONE will be just fine.
Making use of this tool at Mixx is essential in getting your stories noticed. Firstly, it might be tempting to go out and follow as many friends as you can, but this isn't MySpace, comrade (or 
Mixx is not a contest. My personal opinion is that if you are trying to shoot to be the "number one Mixxer", not only are you probably at the wrong site; you're also setting an unrealistic goal. Keep it fun, and if it's taking you a long while to get to SuperMixxer status, do not let it get you down... it just takes time, and patience.
