Thursday, September 23, 2010

ON BLOGGING ~ Group Hug...

Image courtesy of ToniVC via Flickr
 "What if there really WAS enough time?"

During Terry Kate's last online conference for bloggers, she had a panel all about time management with guest Janet Bailey who is what I would call a productivity coach.  She helps clients analyze their needs and diagnose their road blocks and then tailors a realistic plan for them to make them more productive.  Her quote above really got me to thinking what options are out there for bloggers.

While listening to another panel from the same conference about author blogs, I discovered a concept that is not often used but could be a good solution for bloggers of all niches - and even the nicheless ones like us.  Group Blogging.

Group Blogging basically means one blog has a collection of bloggers contributing posts.  This can either be on a set schedule or randomly - whatever works best for the bloggers involved.  But the idea is that bloggers with a common genre/niche/goal put their efforts under one umbrella and provide interesting fodder without the pressure of coming up with the interesting fodder all by yourself every single day.

This could work well especially for a book blog.  I have seen Group Blogs for book blogs covering one specific niche - such as Romance for example.  But it might work really well too if you did a group effort for a book blog that covered all types of genres - then each blogger would be a specialist in their genre of preference.  So if I covered "Classics" I would post on Mondays every week reviewing a classic or discussing the classic genre.  Then on Tuesdays, Sandy would handle Audio Books.  Wednesdays would be DS' turn for all things Poetry.  Margot would handle Cozy Mysteries on Thursdays.  Jehara could handle Nonfiction on Fridays.  Cindy could post about Kid Lit on Saturdays.  And Sundays could be a guest blogger covering their favorite Fiction, Romance, Graphic Novels, etc.  Wouldn't that be fun?

Group Blogging allows bloggers to keep their mojo.  To keep their peeps.  And to gain TIME.  Collaboration, when done with the right mix of ideas and tolerance levels, is a great concept.  Losing complete control of your spot in the blogosphere however might be a scary thought to some.  I'm not sure how we would react to a Group Bumble Blog.  Are there that many nicheless bloggers out there who would want to join forces?  How would editorial issues be decided?  What kind of randomness would even be covered?  Hmmmmmmm.


The first ever Bumble Town Chat will take place tonight at 8:30PM ET right here.  Come collaborate in conversation about how you write and read book reviews and how you add or drop blogs you follow.

9 comments:

Sandy Nawrot said...

I have to admit, the idea is...intriguing! And appealing. But I'm not sure I could do it - give up my own little place in the world. Most likely what I would end up doing is participating in a group blog AND doing my own, thus creating more work for myself. I love that you are always thinking!

Going to try to join tonight. We are going out to dinner early, then will have to pick up kids at various locations. I'm hoping we will be back by 8:30, but I will hop in when I get home!

kayerj said...

hmmm . . . thought provoking. I think group blogging might also create a lot of pressure to put out a quality product. I do think some people could pull it off nicely. I really liked when you partnered with reviews on the book you were reading. It was fun reading both perspectives at the same time. I think you could do a great job at organizing and running a group blog.

Margot said...

I follow two group blogs. One is the Cozy Chicks who are all authors of Cozy Mysteries. They each take a day and save one for guests or other fun things. The other is Mystery Lover's Kitchen with the same format.

I am seriously interested in your idea. Doing a blog together with other fun-loving bloggers really appeals to me. I like the idea of creating something new with others. I can see lots of benefits for everyone involved.

I agree with Sandy - I would not give up my own blog. However, it wouldn't hurt me to cut back a day or two every week on my blog. I've been working up to that anyway. I don't need to be obsessive about posting every single day. If this is a serious idea and others are also interested, count me in.

I'll be back tonight for the first Bumbles Chat.

soleil said...

I am really intrigued by this idea! I would be willing to experiment with this at quirkygirlreads. It's so new and unknown. Why not? I wish I had this before the chat. haha! :)

Anne said...

I miss the group chat. =(

Molly said...

I like the idea of reading a group blog -- but I am afraid that if I were a part of a book blog I would feel tremendous pressure to write a "worthy" post :)

I am so sorry I missed the chat on Friday. I hope that you post a summary of what was discussed.

Candy Minx said...

Great post!

Lisa said...

It's a great idea--I just don't know if I would be able to give up on what I've built already. It's taken me over a year to build up my followers and my own voice--plus I'm totally a control freak! But it would be a great way for new bloggers to get started. If only there were some place for them to hook up that they would be able to find easily.

Kathleen said...

I actually think it is a really good idea. While it might be difficult for people to give up their individual blogs the group blog could be well branded and well read and probably lead to great exposure for all participants!