This quiet community that is not at all quiet has been slowly spreading across the world. I would describe it as a benevolent virus that is catching people all around the globe and infusing them with hysterical ecstasy. It may not yet be as popular as e.g. myspace but at this time of writing, there are already 89,000 users.

Some people might have stumbled upon the site while surfing; others might have been recommended there by friends. Whichever the case, we have many satisfied myLotters making this place their home. Many are so addicted that they cannot survive a day without myLot. They might suffer withdrawal syndromes no different from those addicted to caffeine or drugs. But, the good news is that myLot is definitely not a vice.

To help you decide whether to take one more step and join this vibrant community, I have elaborated on 8 reasons below. ;-)

1. Like many other networks and communities, myLot provides a fertile ground for you to sow seeds of friendship, and reap them. If you are feeling lonely in real life or just want another person to talk to, it is hard not to make friends at myLot. Even in the first few days of posting discussions and responses, it is almost a guarantee that you would be hooked.

2. myLot is all about expressing thoughts and understanding them. It is a silver bullet for training your communication skills. You learn to read between the lines and figure what the discussion poster is trying to say. Thereafter, you try to put forward your response in a concise yet relevant manner. For "advanced" myLotters, wit and humor are often laced in their postings too.

3. You can brush up on your language skills and strengthen your grasp of the English language. Currently, there is a fair number of myLotters from countries where English is not the first language. For these people, they get to observe how the native writers write, and improve their own writing through postings. For those who can write well enough, they get to fine-tune their abilities and be even more succinct.

4. myLot trains your mind and hones your instinct. When you read a discussion topic, you can challenge yourself to come up with a response within a certain time frame. Instead of taking one day to mull over a question, you can practise being more mentally agile by starting to type a relevant response immediately after reading the question. This is very effective in preparing you to think on your feet and answer just about any question under the sun.

5. This is old, but practice indeed makes perfect. If you do many postings and/or postings of long length, you are going to hit the keyboard a lot. By typing so much, it is inevitable that your typing speed will increase. You become a more proficient typist and this will definitely help you in related tasks.

6. There are so many people at myLot and the community is only going to get bigger. There is a saying that "Two brains are better than one". Have you ever been stumped by a question that you have no answer for? That even a Google search cannot help with? With so many people here, it is quite likely that someone would have the answer to your query.

7. Ever started a blog to rant about your daily problems, and feeling even more frustrated since there is no one to listen? At myLot, there are so many pairs of ears always on the ready to support you emotionally. Think of it like many Aunties Agony cooing over you. If you have a problem, shout it out loud. The myLot community will give you a big hug and help you move on in life.

8. Would you believe if I tell you that you get paid for chatting? As ridiculous as it might sound, it is true. I can't provide you with any proof since that is against myLot regulations, but I can certainly tell you I have been paid real cash for my frivolous chatting. How's that for killing many birds with one stone?

Excited? Want to get started right now? Check out http://www.mylot.com/?ref=lordwarwizard . I don't want to be sneaky about this and lie to you that this is not a referral link. It is. If you prefer to sign up without being my referral, just remove my username at the end and go to the root domain. However, let me just share why you want to consider being my referral.

If you sign up as my referral, I get a cut of 25% of your earnings. In case you get all worked up wondering why you should pay me 25% just for reading my article, relax. This 25% is paid by myLot and it will not come from your earnings. So if you join without a referral, this 25% is just going to go back to the myLot coffers. But the real reason for joining as my referral is that I will then have a vested interest to see you succeed. I want to see you do well at myLot because the more you earn, the better off I am. If you are my referral, I will be your mentor for free. How's that for a deal?

Cheers.