PlugRug.com is taking off! With several hundred visitors every day, it’s quickly becoming a great place to collaborate around some of the best ministry resources, tools and ideas on the web.

Here are some guidelines to help enhance your experience as a PlugRug user:

1. Make your submissions stand out by using an avatar.
The default “P” image tends to blend in to the crowd. Get noticed when you contribute to the PlugRug community by using a profile picture.

2. When submitting material, use a good title, brief description and accurate tags.
This will have a big affect on whether people choose to check out the story or not. Accurately describe what your recommended material is about and why you think others should check it out, too.

3. Leave comments.
This is perhaps one of the most valuable aspects of a social site like PlugRug. If you plug it, say why you like it and think it’s valuable. If you bury it, feel free to do the same.

4. Don’t be afraid to bury!
The point of PlugRug is to let the best stuff rise to the top. Without material that is “swept under the rug,” a lot of it may eventually rise to the top and that’s not helpful for anyone. Bury it rather than thinking, “Maybe someone else will like it and plug it instead.”

5. Subscribe to PlugRug’s RSS feeds.
There’s feeds for all published stories, all upcoming stories, upcoming and published stories for each specific category, which helps you stay up to date with all the latest recommended material for your ministry niche. There’s even feeds for individual users whose submissions you typically find to be valuable.

6. Avoid constantly submitting only your own material.
It actually works against you since people tend to ignore your site and your submissions after a while. Try adding the Plug Button to your site and let other people submit your material if they recommend it.

7. Link to the primary source, not to someone else’s post that links to the source.
Pretty self-explanatory. It’s annoying to go to one site just to have to click another link to finally see the story. Take us straight there.

8. You don’t have to visit PlugRug to submit a link.
At the bottom of your profile page there’s a bookmarklet you can add to your browser. Use this link in your browser to easily submit stories with a single click.

[Some of these tips based on 11 Digg Tips.]

Last December I mentioned that an upcoming feature of Life in Student Ministry would be a promotional tool for your ministry-related content. Well, it’s here, but it’s much bigger than I originally anticipated, so much so that I decided to make it a separate website: PlugRug.com.

How It Works
If you’re familiar with Digg, PlugRug works exactly the same way. Basically, you submit links that you think are great ministry tools, resources, podcasts, video clips, etc. Others see the “Upcoming Stories” and if they also like it, they’ll “plug it” by casting a vote for it. Conversely, people can also “sweep it under the rug” by burying it if they think it’s old news, irrelevant, or whatever. After a story becomes popular enough, it is promoted to the front page of the website for a period of time as one of best current ministry links on the web, as determined by people like you from around the world. It’s an innovative way to both share and discover new ministry ideas, resources, tools and material because recommendations are no longer based on just one person’s opinion. For a more detailed explanation on the site’s features and how it works, visit PlugRug’s About page.

Benefits For Content Creators
If you’re a blogger, podcaster, video creator, or someone who generates any kind of web content for ministry, a site like this can be an invaluable tool for you.

• Plug your content and generate traffic to your site, especially if it’s voted to the front page.
• Be discovered by potential new readers and subscribers.
• Connect with other content creators.
• Stay up-to-date on what others find valuable in your specific ministry niche.

You can also add a Plug Box to your site template to make it easy for visitors to see how popular a your specific article is on PlugRug and make it easy for them to vote for it, too. Check out a post on my site to see a live example. To add the Plug Box to your site, get the code from here.

Benefits For Ministry Workers
If you don’t create content, but want to find the best current ministry stuff online as recommended by other ministry workers, this site has the potential to be a goldmine for you. Not only can you find what others deem to be the best, coolest and most relevant material right now in a variety of categories, but you can add your comments and place your votes on upcoming stories to help others discover something cool that you found there.

It Needs You
The only way this tool will work is if a community of people embrace it: submitting material, plugging the good stuff, burying the lame stuff, and promoting the site to others. There’s incredible potential here to share and collaborate on ministry content from all over the web at one central location, but it will only be successful if people like you contribute and make it happen.

If you have a website, feel free to steal the PlugRug graphic above and post it on your site. If you podcast, I appreciate your mentions. Your email newsletters, your conversations with other people, your social bookmarking — however you spread the word, it’s appreciated.