I'm getting ready to change the layout (not the theme) of my blog, Pariah's Guild. For the sidebar at my homepage, I want to list all of the social sites and online Gaming Communities I'm on (e.g X-Box Live, World of Warcraft, Digg, Stumble Upon, Twitter, etc.). What types of advantages will I have if I achieve this? (Keep in mind that this is a gaming blog).
All i can say is advertise like crazy and you will see your blog going places. Check out my posts on how to advertise for free as well as Paid advertising...... http://techsuave.com/2008/04/24/5-methods-to-advertise-your-blog-for-free/ http://techsuave.com/2008/04/26/top-5-paid-advertising-methods-for-your-blog/
I have always liked including social media in the sidebar. It gets some good personal discussion and you never know what will happen with JV opportunities.
I think it is a big plus to do that with websites and blogs because it will just make another way to connect people who view your blog to you. They might not ever come back to your blog if they just visit it but if they add you on twitter or myspace and happen to see something about you via friend feed etc then they will come back. Plus you never know who may come across those websites and come to your blog. I wouldn't rely solely on it like some people but it has helped bring traffic to my websites.
This will add more exposure of your website to third part website. This will indirectly increase your website traffic