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January 22, 2006
Blogging 101 - Community Blogging
By Matt Wood in Blogging 101
The downfall of many a good blog has been a simple lack of content. Even the most well-intentioned blogger can find themselves without enough time to give their blog the attention it deserves. You know the story: you fire up that new WordPress installation with a burst of inspriation, promising to change the world with your thoughts on politics, Mac software, or dirt track motocross racing, and you post five times a day for a month straight. But soon life intervenes, you start posting less and less, and before you know it you're posting apologies for being away so long more often than you write anything new. It's okay, you're only human. Very few people get paid to blog, so it's usually the first thing that suffers when life happens.
Good Help Isn't So Hard to Find
One way to prevent a slow, agonizing blog death is to make it a team effort. The simple act of getting more monkeys pounding away at the keyboard for you can make the world of difference, and it can give your blog the variety that will keep people coming back. Witness the popularity of sites like Boing Boing, Gizmodo, and Daily Kos. Each of these sites has their own niche, but range widely enough within that area and post with enough frequency to build a huge audience.
I write for Chicagoist, a group blog about all things happening in the Windy City. With a team of about 20 regular contributors, we're usually able to post at least 12 times a day, covering topics from city politics to food and drink to sports and music. Some of the writers cover a specific beat, while others, like myself, fill in the gaps with general coverage. That would be a pretty ambitious undertaking for one person, but as a group we're able to cover all the angles, and not just superficially; most posts are over 300 words and consolidate multiple news sources.
Chicagoist Editor Rachelle Bowden started the site in 2004 as the second in the Gothamist family of city blogs. At first, she ran the site with just one other friend. She describes those first few weeks as "hellish," but once the site gained some popularity, they posted a call for contributors and the family grew.
Bowden says she reserves the right to edit any content posted by other Chicagoist contributors, but leaves much of the editorial process up to the writers. Each of us has a Movable Type account, and we post content ourselves. When asked if she ever thought about reviewing posts before they go live, Bowden says, "Maybe for a millisecond. But it's too time consuming especially since we're not getting paid. We put more time into finding quality contributors that we can trust."
Chicagoist has a formal application process for would-be contributors. Any time there is an opening, Bowden posts a job description to ask for help. Applicants usually send in writing samples, explain why they're a good fit, and draft some test posts to show that they can write in the Chicagoist style. Bowden and the associate editors review the applications and have the best candidate make a test run for a few days before joining the team full-time. But starting a group blog doesn't have to be so formal--you can simply ask some of your friends. Chances are you know some like-minded people who would love to rant and rave about their favorite topics.
A key part of keeping Chicagoist running smoothly is open communication. We have a Yahoo Group where we toss around topics and hash out ideas before they go online. Bowden usually posts a message early each morning with potential topics for the day, and the rest of us scan the news and add ideas for our specific beats. To prevent overlap, contributors claim dibs on a story before they start writing. The ensuing discussion helps set the tone for the day, but mostly it helps us get to know each other. Bowden says this constant communcation also helps find good writers. "We put a lot of time into talking on a daily basis. That way we can get a good feeling that people aren't going to come out of right field and write something crazy," she says.
What Readers Expect
By their nature, group blogs usually focus on a specific topic, like the city in which you live, a local sports team, gadgets and gizmos, or politics. As such you have less leeway for what you post on a group blog. In large part, this comes from a responsibility to your readers, who were attracted by the site's topic in the first place. Bowden says, "With the topic of the group blog being the City of Chicago, I only write about things relevant to the city, whereas on my personal site I dont really care about my audience as much so I can feel free to write about what I had for dinner and how fabulous my new jeans are."
This doesn't mean that a group blog has to lack personality. In fact, if each contributor develops a unique style, it adds to the dynamic of the site. Be aware though that as a team effort, readers will expect a certain amount of consistency unless you explicitly develop a forum for debate. You don't have to bend to their every whim, but you would do well to think about their expectations. Just the other day, a reader confronted me about my stance on smoking bans recently passed in Chicago. My view happens to differ from that of other Chicagoist writers who have addressed the topic, but he had assumed that we were all of the same mind. The resulting fallout ended in some ugly comments that could have been avoided had I paid more attention to the team's general stance.
Group Blog Isn't Spelled With an I Either
Working for Chicagoist has made me more aware of that basic human need to belong to something. Fill in all the corny slogans about teamwork that you want, but working with others on a blog raises the stakes. It's easy to let a personal blog slide because you only have to answer to yourself. But with a group, you feel an obligation to do the best job you can because you don't want to let your friends down. The responsibility may be greater when others rely on your to carry your weight, but the results are well worth it.
- By Matt Wood
Blogging 101 publishes every Sunday and provides blogging tips, advice and tutorials for blog newbies and veterans alike.
Matt,
As a blogger who also happens to write about blogging I often find the same bland content all around the blogosphere. This post is defiantly an exception. Great insight and an overall pleasure to read. Thanks.
Posted by: Jon-Michael | April 14, 2007 9:11 PM