My friend Brian Clark shared his take on The Art of Writing Great Twitter Headlines, but that just won’t do for a pirate.  Pirates aren’t worried about you or U, they are worried about loot.

Twitter has become the greatest place to find and share the loot. If your parlaying grabs attention, then the bounty on your blog really goes up.  That said, don’t forget to talk up other’s links, and help them bring the doubloons.

The problem with spinning your yarns on Twitter is the same as for any old bounty post. There’s an 80/20 rule on talking about loot. 80% of pirates will show interest in collecting the bounty, but only 20% will want to do the heavy lifting, even if it’s just clicking a link or swishing a sword.  Even beyond that, Twitter is having so many postings go by that your average pirate has to be real picky about what he hones in on.  He’s gotta listen to the parrot.

To help you scalawags out, Pirate Tojo is gonna give you some advice; it’s all about the LOOT.

1. Larcenies

2. Ogglins

3. Offerings

4. Temptations

A pirate isn’t going to go for just any old palavering, it’s got to draw them in with the thrill of things to come.  And what better things than larceny, things to oggle, some taste offerings, and something to tempt their spirit.

Those posts might fall into some categories you’re a might familiar with: plunder, pillage, and partying

Also, beyond promising all those goodies, you still have to keep it short.  Lop it off before 130 characters, like taking the head off a pris…ah, enough about that. Just keep it short me hearties, short and to the point.  Get it, point.

Brian recommends 8 words or less. I’ll tell you, a good pirate don’t need a whole lotta words. It’s all about precision and posturing.

So go forth you sea dogs, and post your pointy headlines.  May twits be on their guard.

(Note: might I be suggestin Twitter Headlines the Pirate Way for a pointy post?)

Friendfeed is one of the hottest information and networking sites on the net, yet many a sharer languishes in obscurity. Their pictures of cute kittens go uncommented. Their loving diatribes on the social lives of elk go uncommented. And to top it off, no one comments on their blog posts.

Lack of attention totally due to a lack of worthwhile content? Okay, if it’s about elk, probably so. Chances are though that it’s not the content but the copy that’s lacking.

The current focus for lots of blogs is about tuning the copy for search engines. Is your main blog focus elk, then you’ve taken measures making it easier for Google and Yahoo to find your content. Meta tags inhabit your headers, and there’s a liberal use of related keywords. But that’s the wrong strategy for Friendfeed.

Good strategy for Friendfeed is not about catching the random searcher. Friendfeed is about snagging the eyes of your followers. Beyond that, it’s still about snagging eyeballs, the eyeballs of your follower tree.

Interesting pictures is #1. – Here’s a great example

This sort of thing will net you more than a few eyeballs. Most responded to in my experience are women, bright and shiny things, and lastly anything out of the ordinary. Really want attention, include all three.

Exciting headlines are #2. – How about a recent one…

Mentioning a hot online service isn’t enough in it’s own. It’s about presentation. Strong declarations are key, e.g. Love, Hate, Sucks.

New services aren’t the only headline grabbers. Other hot ones include: