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Are blogs a complete waste of time?

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Snake Plissken, Apr 17, 2007.

  1. lantaur

    lantaur Well-Known Member

    That's because the people who are the Cincinnati Enquirer have absolutely no freaking clue. None.
     
  2. best way i've found to attract page views is train the readers to expect new blogs at multiple times of the day. that way, your core group is clicking 2-3 times a day instead of once or even less.

    as for inciting commentary, call all your readers a name so foul you'd blush if you heard it in front of your mother, then say "What do you think?"
     
  3. thebiglead

    thebiglead Member

    Think we've been over this:

    a) link to other blogs. bloggers like that, and in turn, leave comments. it also really helps your technorati ranking which means ... yeah, not so sure
    b) if you comment on other blogs, people will comment on yours
    c) been around longer than a year, rarely had comments, and sometimes still get none. had what i thought was a great post on A-Rod getting a shirtless backrub. Funny video! Nary a comment. Guess people don't hate the guy that much.

    I'm surprised to hear the Cincinnati story. Had no clue comments meant that much. Some of these team-specific sites are 10 people commenting over and over and over, which may turn into 50 comments. In reality, you may only have a few mouthy readers.
     
  4. Hustle

    Hustle Guest

    What he said. Not like that hasn't been a longstanding rule or anything...

    I like doing my blog. It's the one thing I feel like I have complete ownership over. I remember the EE came out and asked the SE if he could do a NASCAR blog. He didn't say a word and just pointed at me. So I'm fairly certain he doesn't give a rat's ass about it, which is fine by me.

    The fact that I work for a paper gives me some kind of in with the PR folks (I think so, anyway). I don't cover but a few races each year, I'm not near Charlotte and I don't have near the institutional knowledge that the full-time folks have - so I feel like I have to go with a different slant. Like some of the recent original reporting I've done has been things like how the COT affected scheme design (I actually got Sam Bass on the phone for that) and a weekly interview with the RIR PR guy to get a sense of the work they put in to host a race. I talked to someone today for something in the future on why companies would choose to run a contingency program. So it lets me get a little creative, which might not be the case for some of the FT beat folks. Mostly, it's just random commentary though.

    (Though I guess it's not complete ownership...I keep bugging the webgirl to let me put the thing on Blogburst, but she keeps ignoring my e-mails.)
     
  5. Sxysprtswrtr

    Sxysprtswrtr Active Member

    If you break news with your blog, you're gonna get comments.
     
  6. HejiraHenry

    HejiraHenry Well-Known Member

    And if, like one of my writers, you can get USA Today to quote your blog ... you'll get more traffic.
     
  7. lantaur

    lantaur Well-Known Member

    Big Lead - I can't agree with you on your point about having to link - or comment on - other blogs, if we're talking about a MSM blog that is. I know it works well for you and Deadspin, but a MSM blog doesn't (and shouldn't) need to link to other blogs to make it successful. Especially beat-driven blogs.
     
  8. Elliotte Friedman

    Elliotte Friedman Moderator Staff Member

    Sorry, Mert.

    I had a game tonight.

    BRoth, links and an "NSFW" notice next time.
     
  9. MertWindu

    MertWindu Active Member

    No worries, E-man, I ain't mad atcha. We need to get some sort of Friedman Signal in here.
     
  10. zagoshe

    zagoshe Well-Known Member

    Here is my issue with blogging -- we are all now required to do one from our beat during season -- yet we don't get paid a dime more. I have too much shit to do already during the season and now they want this too?

    Bullshit -- I'll be the first to admit that my blog sucks because it is last on my priority list and I'm tired of this recent trend of expecting us to do more at a time when they are freezing raises, taking away vacation days, cutting staff (so we all have more to do) yet expecting production to remain the same. I used to have a back-up guy, now I don't.My workload is double what it used to be. If they want a brilliant blog, one that will get people excited about our web-site, then get me some help. Otherwise I'll continue to just extra into it and spend about a total of an hour a week on it.

    I just think that at some point enough is enough - I appreciate the fact that I still have a job and a lot of others don't but by the same token there has to be some ability to take considering all we have been asked to give in this business.
     
  11. Try dropping the phrase, "Sweep the leg" every couple of grafs.
     
  12. thebiglead

    thebiglead Member

    There's a pretty good blog called Randball at one of the Minnesota papers that seems to get comments.

    Zagoshe - surprised your blog is that low on the priority list. This is fun, man! (says the guy who hasn't made squat off his blog in a year, but is having a ton of fun with it)
     
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