Successful Blog

Collaboration Link 5: An Interview

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Collaboration Link 5: An Interview
A Question and Answer format posting

You have probably seen the typical Q&A collaboration done in various formats. We’ve done multi-day interview and single-day interviews at Successful Blog. Here are a few examples.

Collaboration Link–1. 5 Indie’s Advice–the fifth of a six part interview with the owner of The Synchronicity of Indeterminacy.

Collaboration Link–2.3 The Audience is Royalty–The third of a six part interview with the owner of The Reign of Ellen.

I’ve also seen the Five-Question Interview and the Ten-Question Interview. But you know me, I like to change things up a bit.

I’m working with Koray of Koray.ws to show us around his new design in a walking-tour interview fashion. So look for that in the next few weeks.

In a more creative collaboration, a fiction-based interview can a be fresh and entertaining way to pass on solid information. Okay so, this might not work on the most business of business blogs. But don’t give it up without thinking about it. You’d be surprised who might enjoy hearing you have a conversation with a paperclip. Look around. My point is not every interview has to be boring. I only make them that way to torture you. Here’s what we did.

In a collaboration with Teh Blogfather, Eric Mutta, we agreed that the interviewer should be The 65th Crayon, a character on my blog who has among his credits an interview with such the legendary toy, Mr. Potato Head. We thought it might be fun to have The 65th interview Eric’s character, the Blog Father. The resulting interview allowed for questions that were a little less ordinary and still led to answers about the man behind the blog. You’ll find that interview here.

Collaboration Link–Scribbles: Interview with Teh Blog Father

Who knows? Maybe I’ll send my colorful friend to interview Mark Wade next–now that his new design proves that he’s over his fear of crayons I’ve been wondering what his favorite color is. He should have one or two. After all, his company is called R Web Designs. I’m betting it’s red.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Collaboration Link 1: Image and Text
Collaboration Link 2: Topical
Collaboration Link 3: An Event
Collaboration Link 4: Movable Posts
Collaboration Link 5: Begs the Question
Collaboration Link 6: Media Events

Collaboration Link 4: Movable Posts

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Collaboration Link 4: Movable Posts
Three or more blogs agree to write on the same topic in series each posting one after the next

You might think of a moveable post collaboration as similar to a moveable feast. You have the appetizer at one house, the salad at another, the main course at a third, and dessert at still another. This kind of collaboration requires a certain kind of topic and at least three bloggers to make sense. I’ve not done a moveable collaboration, but can’t see why it wouldn’t work well. Here’s the way a Moveable Collaboration might work.

Topic : 10 Ways to a Better Blog

  • Day 1, Blog 1: 10 Ways to Attract Readers
  • Day 2, Blog 2: 10 Ways to Promote Your Blog
  • Day 3, Blog 3: 10 Ways to Write Compelling Posts
  • Day 4, Blog 4: 10 Ways to Get Links
  • Day 5, Blog 5: 10 Ways to Improve Your Rankings

The series would include a schedule, and links that tie all posts to each other for readers, giving each blogger four relevant links. The caution here is that in order to strengthen the community and your blog, you need to be sure that you work with quality bloggers who provide quality, fresh content. The beauty is that you can limit the number of bloggers to the number of quality bloggers you know. No one said you can’t send readers around to every blog again.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Collaboration Link 1: Image and Text
Collaboration Link 2: Topical
Collaboration Link 3: An Event
Collaboration Link 5: An Interview
Collaboration Link 5: Begs the Question
Collaboration Link 6: Media Events

Collaboration Link 3: An Event

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Collaboration Link 4: An Event
One blog sponsors an event in which many blogs contribute

This kind of collaboration occurs in many forms around the Internet. Here are two of my favorites–one that occurs often and a second that is ongoing. This may seem similar to Darren’s Bloggy Crush Collaboration Idea, but the topics here are usually more centered within a certain niche and often chosen to establish participation within a young community or to suss out a large chunk of information on a business topic. Two exapmles jump to mind immediately.

1. A Carnival Carnivals are popular because each blogger can showcase hie or her own interests and strengths to the benefit of the group. Martin, a Successful and Outstanding Blogger, is part of a Marketing Carnival at the moment that has participant writing posts. One host collects seven and compiles them together into a link list as a group publication, pointing to the articles on each individual blog.

2. Let the Comments Be the Posts David at Glittering Muse thought a friend of his had a great idea when the friend pulled a well–written comment out into the light of day. So David started an ongoing readership appreciation event called Glittering Commentari. He has advertised and invited blogs all over the Internet to look through their comments to find particularly moving, insightful, or funny comments that can stand on their own and deserve credit for the great comments they are. You can find information on how to participate at Glittering Commentari.

These collaborations are just two more ways that bloggers have found to link their efforts, ideas, and quality content to make their blogs more relevant and their communities stronger. Learning from each other and sharing what we know . . . where have I heard that before?

Didn’t think I’d find another way to get comments into a post this week, did you? he he.

Wait until you see what’s next . . . 🙂

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Collaboration Link 1: Image and Text
Collaboration Link 2: Topical
Collaboration Link 4: Movable Posts
Collaboration Link 5: An Interview
Collaboration Link 5: Begs the Question
Collaboration Link 6: Media Events

Got a Post that Belongs Here?

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Join the Conversation
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Every voice has something to add to the conversation–an insight, an experience, a unique point of view–something our readers see the rest of us have overlooked. Successful Blog is a community where every voice is welcome, every contribution is valued, and where there’s always a “glad you said that” waiting in the comment box.–MES

Would you like to start a conversation?
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Do you have a post . . .

  • that takes an idea further than we’ve taken it so far?
  • with fresh, relevant content we’d enjoy learning about?
  • that explores a new angle on an old subject?
  • about a tool that belongs in the Survival Kit?
  • about an experience that might help a new blogger?
  • on a trend, a plug-in, a tool, a blog, or anything that we should all check out?
  • about something you’ve found that’s just plain blogging fun?

    • OR

  • Do you have ideas about another way that we might collaborate?
  • Do you have a question that you want us to talk about in our Sunday night discussion?

Share what you know, and we all get better. For details on how, see the Want to Be a Contributor? page.

Remember, the 1849er said, “Fergit the gold in them there hills. There’re links in them there posts.” 🙂

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Be part of something bigger than one– Successful Blog–where blogging means Community.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Great Find: GraphicPUSH

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Since this week has been about Design, I thought you might enjoy exploring this Great Find over the weekend.

Great Find: GraphicPUSH by Kevin Potts
Target Audience: Everyone who’s looking for or learning about design
Site Type: Design Site
Content: The quality of Kevin’s work shows in his own site’s design, in the relevancy of the topics and transparent, well-thought, well-written content of his posts. He markets his work with generosity by providing a quality free offer–three sets of beautifully-rendered free icons to spice up your own blog’s design or your desktop.

Notes: Don’t cheat yourself by jumping straight down to click through to the free icon sets. There’s plenty to see, and to learn about, if you go exploring on this site. Be sure to read the 9 rules that he wrote. No I didn’t realize this was a 9rules network member when I found it. I went there for the free icons I could get for you–and was delighted to find so much more.

More Great Blog Designs to Discuss

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Collaboration Link 2: Topical

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Collaboration Link 2: Topical
Two or more blogs agree to write on the same topic at the same time and link their posts

Topical collaborations can take many forms depending on topic and the blog owners involved. Darren Rowse at Problogger put out a challenge last September for bloggers to choose another blogger as a subject. He called it a Blog Crush, and it was meant to get bloggers to write posts about what they admire about another blogger. The original posts were linked to the admired, and Problogger linked both the writer and the subject.

If you follow this collaborative link example you’ll find out who was my Blog Crush.

Other Topical Collaborative Links include:

  • Ongoing Series Collaboration Two or more blogs in the same niche agree to write about the same topic, but different aspects of it. They post on the same day or days in series.
  • Posting in Parallel Collaboration–Points of View Two or more blogs agree to post on a controversial topic on the same day to argue their side of an issue.

Collaboration is a great foil for feeling like you’re all blogged out. It can bring new energy to an old topic, and liven up a tired crowd. Next time you’re wondering what to talk about, talk to another blogger about collaborating on your next post.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Collaboration Link 1: Image and Text
Collaboration Link 3: An Event
Collaboration Link 4: Movable Posts
Collaboration Link 5: An Interview
Collaboration Link 5: Begs the Question
Collaboration Link 6: Media Events