I was overwhelmed by the number of quality submissions that I received last week. I ended up with over 16 of them. Many of the people that applied were really good writers. In the end, it was decided that we would make the cuts there and turn this into a competition.
Join us in the search for the 3rd blogger on World of Matticus.
The Format
I had originally cut the list down to 8. Due to time restraints and other commitments, one of them had to bow out. I did not have the time or ability to scramble another replacement. Now, there’s no way I can gauge a blogger’s commitment, writing ability, and creativity off of one post. Ergo, I’ve decided to run them through a blogging gauntlet. Every week for a period of four weeks, I pick a post format and style that they have to write. It’s up to them to craft the post itself. They need to come up with the title, the content and any original images on their own. This is done over the weekend. When the weekdays start, the cut off is in place and then I’ll gradually showcase their submissions on the blog for you to read and provide your own feedback on.
Who gets cut and who stays is determined by Wyn and I. We’re not going to list our criteria because frankly, it’s a little hard. How do you answer the question what makes a good blogger? It’s subjective and it’s a decision that we can only make after we see what our underbloggers come up with.
Styles
1: Teaching: A post of value that’ll teach a player how to accomplish something. Could be how to do a complicated boss fight from a class/role perspective or PvP stuff or make money, etc. Sky’s the limit.
2: List: I love lists. They’re short, they’re sweet and they generally get good press and it always stirs up a lively discussion.
3: Player Improvement: Here’s a great one. Take a forum post or a blog post from somewhere. Make sure its got a problem that can be addressed. Write about how they solved it, if applicable, and how you’d do it differently or offer an alternative solution. (IE, question and answer post)
4: Rant: The rant. Can you stir up the masses? The point here isn’t whether you’re right or wrong. The point is to see if you can emotionally charge up the readers and get them passionate about something whether they agree with you or disagree with you.
5: Diary: One aspect about blogging is that some readers are interested in what you’re doing. How have you progressed and grown throughout the game? Downed a boss lately? Completed an event? Attained a mount? Achieved a special ranking? But here’s the catch: A lot of bloggers out there keep diary-like posts already. The trick here is to make yours outstanding and memorable. Whose to say bloggers can’t be story tellers?
6: Updating Post: Pick a blog post that a blogger you’ve admired has done that is outdated (like any of my old ones). How would you change and update it so that it’s relevant today? Did the blogger get it right then? What changes would you make about it now?
7: Debate: This is the sort of devil vs angel kind of post. A few months ago, I wrote a post about an internal debate I had in my head where I weighed pros and cons. When Wyn signed on, we both disagreed with each other on certain aspects of the game where we’d both pick a side and write a post presenting our arguments.
For week 1, I had all of our underbloggers write a rant. WoW players can be very passionate and vocal about anything within the game. But can they translate that emotion onto the screen and get an audience riled up? We’ll find out this week.
Your Underbloggers
If you’ve hung around the Plusheal community or trolled my comments, you might recognize a few of their names! I’ll introduce the other 3 later on.
Again, their posts will be showcased as the week progresses so keep your eyes peeled and don’t forget to comment with your thoughts!
I vote for the Druid!
Seriously, good luck everyone. I look forward to seeing you all in action!
Razorbaxs last blog post..Interesting
7 Contestants. Maybe one individual a day for 7 days of the week? Sounds like it’s gonna be interesting to read.
The truth comes out!
Hai everyone! 😀
hahaha
And here I see who I’m up against and start to go “whoa crap”
hehe, this’ll be fun 😉
Hi all! I recognize most of you from plusheal. This looks like an all-star lineup to me and I’m proud to be part of it.
Sure, it’s all OHHAI2U and SMILESMILENICE right now.. but once the real competition gets going, you will be pullin hair and pokin eyes out like the best of ’em.
megans last blog post..When It All Comes Together
Hey I think on your prospective new blogger profiled a day with their blog article piece could be a good idea. But grand puba Matt will come up with something good I’m sure.
Looking forward to reading the competition pieces. He’ll I’m not even a Healer. I just like to read.
Galohearts last blog post..WotLK Beta: Quest Green Weapons
Good luck all.
I am guessing we are going to get a whole lot of high quality posts in a very short period of time.
gnomeaggedons last blog post..The reason I love the Auction House
Where are the female trolls? *sigh* I guess Wynthea is the only one for me… =P