Chris, Nice Post! You forgot about setting up an analytic package.
Most importantly you never mentioned what the objectives were for the team and the specific tactical steps required to start engaging.
Cheers!
frank
· 1 year ago
i don't think you can fail in terms of 'getting started' with these steps.
one that would be nice i fyou had time before hand to give people homework ...
make everyone begin using the outposts for a couple months so they understand how to use the tools and begin to form opinions/thoughts, best practices, deeper understanding, etc...
i think this allows people to be more informed and bring more to the table during the planning phase of starting a new blog.
I was wondering what you were writing during the WordPress session. You're a much faster blogger than I, sir.
Dale Cruse
· 1 year ago
Seems like every new project that goes up like this automatically chooses WordPress. Remember when people actually considered using Movable Type?
chrisbrogan
· 1 year ago
@Dale - I like the community around WordPress. I think MT is okay, but there's TONS more apps for WP and lots more support. MT is technically better.
DigitalAlan
· 1 year ago
Chris, Amazing how you had this blog post already up during the next session and you participated in that as well - Amazing.
It was Fun Being part of this experiment and can't wait to start participating in the content of this Pittsburgh Blog Site.
Liked your Idea for the Photo Walk of Pittsburgh and There is just so much else that can be added to this - From History, Personal Stories, Events and much more. Thanks for heading this up.
I really want to see what this site evolves into.
Hey I know I will be blogging on my site about this experiment. Plus it gives me something to write about as I had taken your oath in your next session as never to write a post about why I was not writing for a while.
Alan
davefleet
· 1 year ago
I second the need for an analytics package (Google Analytics pretty much chooses itself, although Woopra and the Wordpress Stats are nice).
I would add Backtype to the list of useful passport accounts. If a bunch of you are going to be out there commenting on other sites, it provides a great way to aggregate those comments so you can see what the others are up to and keep a record of where you've engaged.
Yogesh Sarkar
· 1 year ago
You guys might want to change to About Us page to something meaningful, I know you guys have just launched it, but About Us page is a necessity from the moment and site/blog is launched.
Freddy Gipson
· 1 year ago
Hi Chris, my name is Freddy and I'm 15 and I've been reading your blog here for a couple of weeks now and I'm hooked because of the helpful tips and information you give out to your readers. Your social networking ideas are brilliant and they're different from the norm that I find on most marketing blogs out there. You make an important point of the fact that self promotion is good but you should get others involved too.
This group blog idea is brilliant and you've inspired me to start my own. Very soon here I will be starting a few group blogs. One for podcasting ideas and innovations and one for an art group I'll be creating with other users on DeviantArt.com; I never liked writing seriously in a blog, when I was on Blogspot I would normally just embed stupid YouTube memes and call that a post but now on my hosted Wordpress blog I'm quoting magazines, discussing social networking and I'm also writing about my personal stories and experiences in a professional manner. I would certainly love to know how to expand my blog and make it better than it is so if you could drop by and check it out that would be awesome. The url is http://www.freddy.lostsignalnetwork.com I hope you'll enjoy it. I'll be sure to keep reading every day.
John
· 1 year ago
great tips, thanks!
chrisbrogan
· 1 year ago
Hi Freddy- Very cool to hear it. Thanks so much for dropping a line. Good luck with your projects. I'd say you might want to start with one, get it cooking ,and then move on to the next. Easier than juggling that many balls in the air at once. But very fun stuff.
John Carson
· 1 year ago
Hey CB,
I think https://domize.com/ is faster than Ajaxwhois and also has a lookup and links to GoDaddy too.
JC.
Sarah Cooley
· 1 year ago
I agree about the commpunity around WP, and I love the idea of a group project like this! I think we should all start one within the community in each city! I will take the lead for NYC if anyone else is interested.... shoot me a line!
Kara Krautter
· 1 year ago
Great 'how to' on starting a group blog. I agree with step 10. Having fun is very important. Having a lot of authors at launch is great -- even better when you still have all of them contributing on a regular basis after 6 months. KK
@kara_atDELL
Justin Kownacki
· 1 year ago
Goals for a group blog are very important, but considering this one was hatched inside of 60 minutes from a disparate group of Pittsburghers AND non-Pittsburghers, I think an open-ended concept ("the voices of Pittsburgh") is a safe starting point.
Group blogs (or any group work) should have the goals defined by those who expect to do the most work on (or are paying the most to produce) the ongoing project. Since we don't know who'll be taking the lead on this yet, I suspect it'll be a self-policing growth period, and then the core contributors can refine the next steps and decided upon a clearer direction, if necessary.
Thanks for handing us the keys, though, Chris! Sometimes someone else has to start the car in order for it to roll down the hill...
Manish Mohan
· 1 year ago
I have been mentoring a team blog, eCube, for a while now. I wrote my experiences in my blog here. Hope these are useful and add to this post of launching a group blog.
Shannon
· 1 year ago
One again, Chris, you rock the world with your posts. This is very helpful in assisting me in TRYING to explain what communities can accomplish. I will be sure to pass this around to the tourism industry in any way I can.
Thanks!
Ed Walker
· 1 year ago
Great post. I've been thinking about how we can use blogging in our organisation and I think a group blog would be excellent for our elected officers to use to communicate their messages to students. Will let you know how we get on!
Yann Motte
· 1 year ago
While there are great tips on this post -like choosing the outposts- what this story mainly shows is how complex setting up a (group) blog can be for non-websavvy users. There are much simpler alternatives, like what we do on www.webjam.com where you set up your webjam with one (or several) blog module (and many others if you wish) and invite members as co-editor in just a few clicks. A good example of group blog there is Oeste, available on http://www.oestesurf.com which is about surfing
How do you handle compensation? Is everyone blogging for free? How does that work when/if you monetize the site? Do you give people a piece of equity to blog instead if you have no cash to pay per post? How much paperwork is that everytime someone joins or leaves the team?
I launched a blog over the summer with a partner, but we don't have the time we thought we would to nurture the site. Since we plan to monetize it when we hit certain pageview milestones, it feels weird to ask others to write for free for our own (eventual) profit. How do you entice others to join, but be fair in compensating them for their time?
Cikeglymmem
· 11 months ago
hello! I like your site :-) If you r looking for Paid Surveys this is the place for u. Start advancing your paychecks at http://tinyurl.com/96nxz8
mack
· 4 months ago
nice article.you simply fantastic.your experience speaks through your write up
All Comments
Nice Post! You forgot about setting up an analytic package.
Most importantly you never mentioned what the objectives were for the team and the specific tactical steps required to start engaging.
Cheers!
one that would be nice i fyou had time before hand to give people homework ...
make everyone begin using the outposts for a couple months so they understand how to use the tools and begin to form opinions/thoughts, best practices, deeper understanding, etc...
i think this allows people to be more informed and bring more to the table during the planning phase of starting a new blog.
--
http://twitter.com/franswaa
The demographics of the planning group speaks volumes.
The planning groups I've been involved with in the past were dominated by an older generation who are not fluent with Web 2.0 and Social Media.
Many executive do need an afternoon brief on the recent - and now common practice - of extending your message with outpost real estate online.
Thanks for the step-by-step outline - this is a great place to refer Tourism Executive and business owners.
http://twitter.com/douglaslampi
It was Fun Being part of this experiment and can't wait to start participating in the content of this Pittsburgh Blog Site.
Liked your Idea for the Photo Walk of Pittsburgh and There is just so much else that can be added to this - From History, Personal Stories, Events and much more. Thanks for heading this up.
I really want to see what this site evolves into.
Hey I know I will be blogging on my site about this experiment. Plus it gives me something to write about as I had taken your oath in your next session as never to write a post about why I was not writing for a while.
Alan
I would add Backtype to the list of useful passport accounts. If a bunch of you are going to be out there commenting on other sites, it provides a great way to aggregate those comments so you can see what the others are up to and keep a record of where you've engaged.
This group blog idea is brilliant and you've inspired me to start my own. Very soon here I will be starting a few group blogs. One for podcasting ideas and innovations and one for an art group I'll be creating with other users on DeviantArt.com; I never liked writing seriously in a blog, when I was on Blogspot I would normally just embed stupid YouTube memes and call that a post but now on my hosted Wordpress blog I'm quoting magazines, discussing social networking and I'm also writing about my personal stories and experiences in a professional manner. I would certainly love to know how to expand my blog and make it better than it is so if you could drop by and check it out that would be awesome. The url is http://www.freddy.lostsignalnetwork.com I hope you'll enjoy it. I'll be sure to keep reading every day.
I think https://domize.com/ is faster than Ajaxwhois and also has a lookup and links to GoDaddy too.
JC.
I think we should all start one within the community in each city! I will take the lead for NYC if anyone else is interested.... shoot me a line!
KK
@kara_atDELL
Group blogs (or any group work) should have the goals defined by those who expect to do the most work on (or are paying the most to produce) the ongoing project. Since we don't know who'll be taking the lead on this yet, I suspect it'll be a self-policing growth period, and then the core contributors can refine the next steps and decided upon a clearer direction, if necessary.
Thanks for handing us the keys, though, Chris! Sometimes someone else has to start the car in order for it to roll down the hill...
Thanks!
find it here: http://tinyurl.com/5z7h8m
I launched a blog over the summer with a partner, but we don't have the time we thought we would to nurture the site. Since we plan to monetize it when we hit certain pageview milestones, it feels weird to ask others to write for free for our own (eventual) profit. How do you entice others to join, but be fair in compensating them for their time?
If you r looking for Paid Surveys this is the place for u.
Start advancing your paychecks at http://tinyurl.com/96nxz8