Tag Archives: blogging

Blog-Off, Anyone?

Bloggers of the World! I would like to run a Blog-Off:   a contest between bloggers with some monetary awards and some contributions to charity as a result (plus, fame, fortune, and lots of prestige), but I’d like to know how many people would be interested in participating.    If this sounds interesting, read on:

The basic format would be something like this:    You get a subject and you have to write a blog post on your own blog about it by a certain day of the week.    Then everyone else would have until the end of the week to read and vote for the top 3 entries.   This continues for several rounds until a winner is declared.

The details of it can be worked out later, but that’s the basic idea.    Everyone contributes a dollar amount (something around $10-$20 USD) to the cause and at the end, the winner(s) get a portion (50% split up between them) and the other 50% goes to a charity.    Right now I’m thinking about the March of Dimes, but I’m open to suggestions.

The advantages are that you get ideas to write blog posts about, you get some incentive to read other blogs, and you get to meet some great people.     Disadvantages are that you’re on a bit of a schedule to get things written and read (gotta keep it moving), but most people find a rhythm that works for them and it’s not too bad.

I participated in several Blog-Offs for cancer ran by Courtney of Five Second Dance Party and had a great time, plus met a bunch of terribly interesting people.    I highly recommend it if you haven’t tried it before, and if you are a seasoned veteran, why not jump in again?

If you are interested in hearing more — NO committment yet — please leave a comment on this post or use the “Contact Me” link to drop me a line.     Hopefully we can get a good whack of people together and have a bunch of fun!

The Not Famous Blogger Convention

If you’re like me, you’re regularly jealous of blogger conventions like BlogHer, SXSW, Blog World Expo, etc., thinking, “Well, if only I was big-time, I could be going to those sorts of conventions, too!”

Pfffft!    I’ve got yer big time right here.     It’s about time we had our own convention for us Not Famous types!

The notoriously sweet and sassy Meghann of Waangel.com and I had an idea to form our own blogger get-together since we can never seem to make the grade for any of the others — The Not Famous Blogger Convention!    Seriously, could you imagine getting together with a bunch of the bloggers you read regularly, but that DON’T have 10 gadzillion readers?   The truly interesting people that color your reader every week and yet would get lost in a crowd at one of the larger cons?

Sure you can!   That’s why you belong at our event!

So, here’s what we’re thinking, if we can pull off this wild and crazy idea:   sometime this next winter, say, February, when the northern reaches have their bits sealed in permafrost, we’d all try to gather in some location warm, sunny, and possibly beachy (SoCal?).    Rent a location big enough to hold all of us, in or near a hotel, have some group activities and lots of social time, idea time, and relaxing time.   It’d be a combination of vacation and brainfodder for your blogstream (yes, you can bring your Twitter with you).    If we can get enough peeps, we can lobby to get some sponsors, companies to show off software/hardware and the like, and get some media exposure to advertise.    The possibilities are quite endless!

A writing session for all bloggers and then taking home a book of everyone’s writings — complete with their autographs and some face time?

Cocktail hour by a pool with your blogroll?

Tapas and Twitters?

A Blog-Off for a worthwhile charity?

Flickr Fun in the Foam?

Dinner and Dancing for all?

(Yes, we’d have Internet access.   Sheesh!)

Am I the only one that thinks this’d be awesome?   There’s tons of you I’d like to meet and bang heads with in person, and for a guy living in Iowa, winter is an excellent time to get the hell out!

Why is this different from the “big boys”?   Well, for one it’d be cheaper, more accessible and flexible, more intimate, and more relaxed.    Imagine a vacation with all of your Internet ‘family’ — that’s what we’re talking!

There’s no commitment at this point — we’re just gauging interest for now, but if you think this is something you’d be interested in hearing more about, drop a comment on here and we’ll be sure to add you to a list of peeps to contact with more information as we gather it.     We have to get a bunch of names and ideas first before we can move forward, but I think it’s possible to create a great event and a perfect get-away excuse!

Please post this on your own blog or at least pass it on to your friends and your blogroll — send it to those that you’d want to see at the convention!

The Not Famous Blogger Convention — fantasy or reality?   YOU DECIDE!