Poll - Should Blogger Idol Continue?

I'd vote to keep it...if you decide not to, i'd gladly pick up the baton.

i've contributed on all but one of them...the bird one didn't compel me to contribute, but all the rest have been interesting.

maybe if you pass around hosting that might pique the interest, too.

just a few thoughts.

Bryan » 18 April, 2004 4:07 PM

Id prefer it to stay for a little while.
Last week's topic may not have interested many, I had fun doing it however. I'd like to see another era theme like the 80s one we had, or perhaps something to do with music.

Amanda » 18 April, 2004 7:22 PM

last few weeks weren't as interesting, but overall, I've enjoyed the project.

ed » 18 April, 2004 9:31 PM

I think this is something that is good for a limited duration (one more month is fine). If it goes indefinitely, you'll probably just see it receive less and less entries -- the attention span that I've seen here is better than any I've ever seen before! :)

Maybe end it now (soon) and start it up again next January. Make it a Spring thing!

timsamoff » 18 April, 2004 11:20 PM

I enjoy the challenge of coming up with something to topic every week. However, my brain hasn't always responded.

I imagine this will continue to lose steam and should be wound down. Tim's idea of an annual event sounds good.

Ian McKenzie » 19 April, 2004 12:02 AM

yeah I'm liking it so far - but I agree that the topics haven't been so great lately. Maybe we should try and put out some more interesting topics. Get a list going or something

jess » 19 April, 2004 2:06 AM

I voted to keep the idea of Blogger Idol. It is a tremendous way to find new blogs. I have added a number of new blogs to my reading list as a result. The topics, while mixed in quality, do provide that one great difficulty faced by many bloggers: finding a topic to write about that day.

I agree with Bryan that passing the Idol around from blog to blog from week to week, might stir more interest. Move it around like Carnival of The Capitalists, Carnival of the Vanities, and Carnival of the Canucks. Each week, a different blog hosts the event, bringing an entirely new viewpoint, and their individual blogging style to the event.

Perhaps the event simply needs some additions and modifications.

Wayne Hurlbert » 19 April, 2004 3:20 AM

I've enjoyed doing it, found new blogging friends, and increased traffic to my blog.

Whatever happens now, it was a great idea and lots of fun while it lasted. Thanks.

My readers have enjoyed it as well. I know at least one of my readers has visited your site just to see what I'd be writing about in my Blogger Idol entry for the week. It was the week you posted the topic late, and they emailed me to ask if Blogger Idol had ended.

Marguerite » 19 April, 2004 3:59 AM

great comments....looks like things will continue for at least a while.

One idea I've been toying with is to let it run until the season of American Idol 3 ends and start it back up again next year.

As far as topics go - as I say every week in topic announcement emails and postings - if you think of a good topic, just email me. I'll take the blame for average topics as long as others take the blame for not submitting better ones. :-)

Submit your suggested topics here in comments or via email.

Keep voting and leaving your suggestions....am happy to keep tweaking this thing

Darren Rowse » 19 April, 2004 8:53 AM

> One idea I've been toying with is to let
> it run until the season of American Idol
> 3 ends and start it back up again next
> year.

You know, for some reason, I thought that this was the original idea! :)

timsamoff » 20 April, 2004 12:22 AM

I definitely want it to continue, I have met many quite nice people here! I do have a couple of suggestions though.

1. Each week, the url has changed. That makes it difficult for folks who are just reading the blogs and not on the topic list to keep track of it. It would be nice to have one central page with this week's entries, then an archive of the past weeks.

2. This is just my personal opinion, but it might be fun to have an actual poll each week on which entries were most creative, etc. Just a thought. A lot of us are voting on our top fives each time, but it would be nice to see it consolidated.

Or not. Your mileage may differ :)

\__Cliff Between the Lines__/ » 20 April, 2004 3:52 AM

I haven't actually kept up with or participated in BI at all, but I think it's a cool idea, and yes, there are tons of new blogs up there.

BTW, I think this entry currently has a trackback spam, judging from the URL.

If you're interested in using polls on a regular basis, I highly recommend Advanced Poll 2.03, which is available at http://proxy2.de/scripts.php under that title (it's a PHP program, with a great interface, and it uses your MySQL database). I've used it to get lots of feedback, which has been very helpful as I worked on a new site design.

On another usability note, I like the way you identify posts that are long and of interest only to certain readers, and utilize the "read more" link feature. That makes keeping up with reading your posts a lot more manageable and enjoyable.

</UnSolicitedAdvice>

Justin Baeder » 20 April, 2004 1:17 PM

I say keep it also, as for the reasons that many have mentioned. I have enjoyed reading blogs that I would not have otherwise visited.

All great things go through a tweaking stage before the right process is found.

My recommendations are maybe to have topics once a month or bi-weekly. This may be easier to handle and gives more time for thought on the subject when we get busy.

Many times, especially recently, I have wanted to write on a topic but just by passed it because I had no time to submit it. Before long the subjects were coming faster than I could respond.

my 2 pennies.

lj » 20 April, 2004 2:56 PM

I agree with lj. I ended up dropping out because I just had too many things on my plate. Also, it got to the point where BI entries were all I was posting, and a couple of my regular readers started complaining that they wanted more about ME! Go figure! Anyway, monthly entries might make it more manageable for me. BTW, I didn't vote in the poll because, even though it's effectively ended for me, I didn't want to decide for anyone else.

#Debi » 20 April, 2004 8:44 PM

I really like that biweekly idea. We would have more time to write the post and, just as important, more time to read the other entries.

I like Cliff's idea about a central voting for Top 5 or whatever it turns out to be. The way it is now when I get mentioned on someone's Top 5 list and they don't think to tell me, I don't know about it unless I catch the link in my stats.

Since we have so many different ways to address a topic I would find it difficult to select an overall best entry. It might be fun to have different categories to vote for: Best picture, best humor, most imagination, most thoughtful, etc.

Marguerite » 21 April, 2004 1:09 AM

Oops! I just looked back an noticed that it was lj's good idea to have it bi-weekly. Sorry.

Marguerite » 21 April, 2004 1:12 AM

I agree with the biweekly thing, and the central voting. And it may be a good idea to end it with American Idol, and just give people a rest. I know I'm going to be away for awhile, and summer can be a crazy time...

also my 2¢

jess » 21 April, 2004 11:41 AM

I'd go for more of a monthly outing than bi-weekly if you choose to continue.

timsamoff » 21 April, 2004 1:14 PM

i would like to have more notice on the topic - say give next weeks topic out 1 week in advance so that we can have time to research and write our responses.
i agree with most of the responses above except the american idol season thing
this is worldwide so us aussies who dont have american idol dont relate to that or the summer of yours - our winter
in my case i dont watch tv anyway so american idol means even less to me.

monthly or biweekly is better than weekly though dont really care
common web page and archives - good idea
overall best entry based on a poll - really good idea - add a trophy gif that the winner can display on their website
shift the hosting around - maybe to the previous entry winners site if they can host it???

tim » 22 April, 2004 8:36 AM

I'd agree with those pushing for bi-weekly. I participated for 2 weeks (the first two), but then found that I didn't have time to get my entry written by the deadline. Usually I have the most time toward the end of the week and by that time it would be too late (at least "officially"), plus by then the next topic would be almost out and I'd feel like I was falling behind.

If there was more time to write something up, it would be a big help. While I guess something like Friday Five only gives one a day, it's also a lot less detailed. Blogger Idol seems to beg for thoughtful blog entries, but sometimes those take awhile to produce. :)

Timothy R. Butler » 25 April, 2004 11:00 AM