Blogging Self-Analysis

Three lists about blogging and how I stack up against them.

The first two are common mistakes made by bloggers. The first list, from Kevin at Blogging Tips, refers to newbie bloggers. That ain't Me, but let's check it out:


· Repeating what other bloggers are saying - MAYBE. I quote, but My rants are unique.

· No Opinion / Scared to rock the boat - NOPE. No point doing this unless you take a clear stand.

· Link Trains - NOPE. Hate them.

· Spamming other blogs with comments - NOPE. They're on their own.

· Spending more time commentating that writing posts - NOPE. See above.

· Promoting their blog before its ready - NOPE. I don't promote it much. As for "ready"....

· Blogging about too many subjects - MAYBE. "Puerto Rico" is a broad subject.

· Erratic posting frequency - MAYBE. I stick to M-W-F, but write any day of the week.

· Trying to make money instead of just concentrating on running a good blog - NOPE!

· Expecting to have a successful blog within 3 months - NOPE!



Then over at Goal Success Blog, Brad Isaac adds these other 10 mistakes. Grading Me yields:


+ Getting into the mindset that a post should be a certain length and never exceeding or going below that length. -- NOPE. But size does matter...

+ Not spending adequate time proofing for errors and readability. -- MAYBE. The Picky Grammar Lady catches Me...and should help out Brad, too.

+ Giving up the first month. -- HA!

+ Not building a community by responding to comments. -- NOPE. I answer almost all.

+ Not writing every day (notice I didn't say posting) writing - this blogging stuff takes practice. -- NOPE. I write 6 days a week and sometimes I even read it.

+ Writing in a dry tone, no personality. You need to sell yourself baby! -- NOPE. But then again, I'm a Jenius! I don't need no stinkin' selling job!

+ Making the blog's subject too broad: Welcome to the Food blog. -- YEAH. But I try to stay within My self-defined "Puerto Rico" boundaries. Not successful all the time...

+ Not seeking out similar blogs to market to. -- YEAH. Don't care to.

+ Blogging negatively about the company they workED for. -- N/A. Unless you count a couple of My recent posts...

+ Not thinking through what they want from their blog before they begin it. -- MAYBE. I wanted a place to explore, discuss and vent My thoughts. I got the "explore" and "vent" parts right.


Finally, Robin Good weighs in on professional bloggers, often self-proclaimed blowhards who think they are in some way superior to the rest of you poor slobs. Here's his list in How I Recognize a Professional Blogger:


--Open-minded: CHECK. I'll listen to anybody's stupid opinion.

--Curious: CHECK. I don't know enough yet. Maybe by tomorrow.

--Humble: HA!

--Perseverant: CHECK. I prefer "Determined," but it ain't My list.

--Responsible: CHECK. I'm not perfect, but I do step up.

--Picky: CHECK. And from a blogging perspective, I have a Picky Grammar Lady, too!

--Committed: CHECK. I am, and many feel I should be. (hahahahahahahamental)

--Passionate: CHECK. You can't say you're aware of the world and remain indifferent.

--Professional: CHECK. I work freelance: I'd better be.

--Skilled real-time collaborator: CHECK. See above.

--Honest: CHECK. But I'd like to be more open about several things...

--Open to listen: CHECK. Sometimes I'm all ears, at others I'm a mouth on Pause; could improve.


So here's a question to other bloggers: How would you do on these lists?



The Jenius Has Spoken.