For the past few weeks, I have been playing with a few things.

One, I have let a few posts into my Twitter feed that are sponsored. This has been interesting-I dont see them come through, and they are marked as an ad. They are very unnoticable, and they make me roughly $1.50 per ad. It is not something that I will be doing on a regular basis.

Another story about paid blogging has caught my eye, and helped me solidify my theory that disclosure matters more than anything. Recently, a TechCrunch intern was fired for trying to get a free computer in exchange for a post about a startup.

Now, I know TC has had sponsored posts. Most blogs have. Hell, I even have a post about a Blackberry case that was provided to me for free.

If the intern had been in the open, he may not be looking for a new gig. Its even worse that he was billed as a tech wunderkind, and how has a pretty big tarnish on his reputation.

If you are open about these things, I see no reason for a community to be upset. However, dealing under the table is 100% grounds for consequences.

As bloggers, what do you think about relationships with companies?

As readers, do you care? Does a disclosed, but still compensated post help or hurt a blogger?

The #1 question that I find myself getting asked is “How can you manage school, work, side projects, and a personal life”

I hope to shed some light on this.

I have had to give up many of the frivolities of my high school life. Back then, I would just sit and watch TV, or play video games.

Now, I am rarely without my laptop, do not own a TV, and getting little sleep.

The best answer to how I do it all is not a productivity tip or trick (although I do swear by, and live by, Getting Things Done by David Allen).

The best answer is because I love the web, and because I am hungry. I have never been the type to sit back and have things handed to me, I have always wanted to be on top.

This makes all the late nights, all the missed social events, and all the headaches so worth it. To think that I can have 3000 people read what I want to say, to think that I get asked to speak, train, and teach about things I love, to know that my websites, (and hopefully my webapps once they are done) are seen by that many people make it all worth it.

I have always been very competitive. That also makes it easy to hustle this hard.

There are tricks and tools. I carry a Moleskine and a pen everywhere I go. My laptop is always with me, for the 30 minute openings when I can crush out a few tasks. I live and die by the service on my Blackberry.

But, in the end, I can do this all because I am driven, and because I have people who believe in me, and people who I have made commitments to.

Also, if you have ever complimented me on my abilities to get everything done, I am very grateful. Its people like you that keep me going.

What are social media “Experts” trying to sell?

How about people who sell downing rods?

They are trying to sell relevance.

People want to be relevant. Why do you think that so many people entered the online world when it took off? Why are there so many people cluttering up the web with “lists” and screaming about buying their product?

They are trying to be relevant.

“Snake oil” salesmen have been doing this for years. They jump on whatever the hot trend is, and they move forward being relevant.

The first people to be “relevant” in any field are looked at to be the experts. They are the standards that all the late-comers are measured against. Notice how rarely you see someone who comes late to the party emerge as an expert?

This is not just in business, though. My church, Eagle Brook Church, has a goal to be relevant. They saw what was happening to churches across the country, and wanted to buck that trend. So, they relaunched, and have turned into a mega-church that sees 12,000+ attendees across its 3 campuses every weekend. While church attendance across America has gone down as a whole, they have had to expand, and their attendance has continued to increase. This can all be traced back to them being relevant. (To point this back to the “expert” argument I am making, they currently get hired to teach other churches how to “do church”.)

My point is that, in everything that you do, be relevant. It is the best way to be ahead, to stay in the front, and to be the most prepared when there is a new trend.