From zero to hero in one year: what it takes to rise to stardom in medical blogging world

Berci Mesko celebrates the one year anniversary of his medical blog ScienceRoll.com. He started with zero visitors one year ago to reach more than 1,000 page views per day.

He is generous enough to list me among his mentors but in reality I learned far more from him than the other way around. For example, I have never used my SecondLife account and Berci seems to be the medical blogger who knows most about it. I am happy to be one of his 266 FeedBurner subscribers. Currently, this blog still has about 1400 subscribers but with the speed Berci's website is ascending in the medical blogging world, it will surpass this number by its second anniversary.

Berci lists his achievements and some of them are also useful tips on how to start and maintain a popular blog:

I’ve launched two blog carnivals: Gene Genie is dedicated to human genetics and personalized medicine, while Medicine 2.0 is devoted to web 2.0 and medicine.
Tip: Start a blog carnival.

I got a special mention in Medgadget’s Weblog Awards in January.
Tip: Have your blog nominated for blog awards.

Some of my posts have been mentioned by Pharyngula, Blog Around the Clock, Medgadget, Neatorama, Mashable! and Read/Write web.
Tip: Comment on other blogs.

I enjoy the support of HONcode, Healthcare Blogger Code of Ethics and DNA Network.
Tip: Register your blog with different networks and directories.

I’ve hosted some editions of Gene Genie, Medicine 2.0, Mendel’s Garden and Grand Rounds.
Tip: Host blog carnivals.

I’ve had several behind-the-scenes interviews with famous medical bloggers and others as well.
Tip: Interview other bloggers on your website.

References:
The First Birthday of Scienceroll!
12 Important U.S. Laws Every Blogger Needs to Know. Aviva Directory, 02/2008.
A Wikipedia wizard and blogger. BMJ Career Focus, 08/2007.
Image source: BMJ Career Focus.

Updated: 02/23/2008