Perhaps my last post before Darren returns this coming week but a very easy question to the many wonderful Problogger readers out there, perhaps as means of feedback for Darren: The Guest Blogging Experiment at Problogger: Good or Bad?
From my perspective I’ve loved the freedom to write in the first person and ponder some interesting questions that I might have otherwise not raised at the Blog Herald, and I’ve enjoyed a lot of the contributions for other guest bloggers as well. Certainly one of the wonderful things Darren has going here at Problogger is the extremely strong “feedback” community if you like, in terms of those willing to leave comments. Whilst I’ve had some great comment threads at the Blog Herald I certainly can’t match the consistent commenting on nearly every post here at Problogger, and from the third party view point I think that’s a major aspect that for me makes this blog a must read..indeed on occasion (even from my own posts) I can learn more from the contribution of readers comments than I did from the initial post.
On the flip side I suppose there has been a lack of consistency without Darren’s guiding hand present here at Problogger. Some days have had more posts than others, and the quality or interest has varied for me personally.
Share your thoughts. Darren will be back in Bleak City (Melbourne) this week and I’m sure he’ll be interested in your thoughts. Indeed I have little doubt that he’ll reflect on it as well, but why not get the ball rolling.
[…] logging at Darren Rowse’s blog Problogger and I’ve pondered the question here: The Problogger guest blogging experiment: good or […]
In my opinion, it couldn’t really be “bad”…i mean, Darren managed to gather alot of talented guest bloggers to contirbute here, some of them were better, some insisted to highlight their site when posting (which was pretty annoying)…
As i said, it couldn’t be “bad”….not becayse it just can’t be..the main reason i enjoyed it is the the quality posts that i’ve read here from some of the guest bloggers…
Heat
I wouldn’t call it bad, that wouldn’t be fair to those who have contributed. But to me it hasn’t been Problogger.
To me it’s Darren’s perspective on the topics he posts about that make visiting this site worthwhile. Take that away and it’s just a random smattering of posts about blogging.
The level of feedback on this site is impressive, but it’s not why I personally visit.
I’d have to agree with Eoghann Irving. You guys did a great job, but it’s just not the same. Looking forward to Darren’s return.
It was more good than bad. Like you’ve mentioned, having guest bloggers have prompted a lot of discussion which has given me new insights and things to consider and try out.
The only bad thing has been the lack of consistency, of tone, of posting level but guest blogging definately has its virtues – bringing your audience a different viewpoint from your own.
On an aside, is it just me or are all comments underlined?
I hope the comments about the guest blogging have been about ProBlogger only because I feel for Darren’s other myriad blogs, he’s brought in true experts in the fields that his blogs cover.
That has been an incredible insight to hear from pros in the field. Not to knock Darren at all, since he does a bang up job on his own, but in my opinion it has been quite good.
As others mentioned, the shameless plugs were REALLY annoying, someone kept doing it for every post they put up on Problogger, very tacky in my opinion.
I introduced myself on two of Darren’s blogs and left it at that. There is a reason why Tivo’s commericial skip function exists.
In my opinion, guest blogging was certainly better than not having any Problogger posts at all while Darren was away. And I did find useful information here from several of the guest bloggers. It was a bit hard to keep up on who was posting, but other than that, I have to say it was a good experience.
And, yes, I am seeing almost everything underlined, not just comments.
I enjoyed the side trip. Altho I missed Darren too, I made a couple of new friends (Peter, Blog Studio, is creating a new look and feel for Diva Marketing) and discovered some great blogs.
It was good from the perspective of keeping things rolling in Darren’s absence, but I have to say that I much prefer the consistency of ProBlogger with Darren at the helm. This is true of pretty much any blog. I like having at least a vague expectation of what to expect when I visit a site. This isn’t to say that I have a problem with network blogs — in that case, the varied topics and opinions (i.e., the inconsistency) is what gives it consistency. If that makes any sense. Bottom line: I don’t like change.
fivecentnickel.com
just on the plug issue I hope it wasn’t me, I did occasionally link to a story or article but I tried to put myself in Darren’s shoes in this regard: would Darren have linked, and occasionally there was a bit of inline linking when relevant, but I certainly tried to avoid any huge “who I am” style of thing at the end of posts. It brings up another interesting consideration in itself: what’s acceptable and not acceptable when you are contributing on another blog, and as a blogger what should you offer for guest contributors in terms of giving credit and value back?
[…] cy of the updates. Different updating times suit different people. I’m also against guestblogging (against being ‘mild anti […]