Writer's Notes Edged Out in First Round of WRC Blog Tournament
April 9th 2008 01:11
Writer's Notes' Design Issues Lead to One-Point Loss
Writers Notes was edged out of John Hewitt's March Writing Blog Madness blog tournament yesterday (U.S. time) by Content Maven by a slim 14-13 margin. (For an explanation of how the contest works, visit John's post, March Writing Blog Madness Explained. You'll also find the seedings, which determined the matchup of the blog pairs that would compete, in the March Writing Blog Madness Seedings post.)
Of a possible total of 18 points, Content Maven Meryl Evans--a veteran writer, editor, and blogger--managed to rack up one more point than Writer's Notes could eke out due to blog design problems (which many of you already know about).
Blogs were judged in six different categories, each with a three-point maximum score: Archives, Design, Usability and Navigation, Purpose, Personality, and Five Most Recent Posts. Here's John's post presenting his comparative assessment of both blogs, along with his rationale for the points he assigned to each blog in each area: Game 12: #2 Seed Content Maven Versus #7 Seed Writer’s Notes. (There's still a great deal more to come in this tournament--more rounds to be "fought" and more blogs to be judged--so be sure to check it out.)
Did a Poorly Timed Orble Formatting Experiment Contribute to Writer's Notes' Loss?
While it's difficult to say for certain, it could very well be that, had the timing of the Orble formatting experiment (in which Google ads were placed in unusual and esthetically unpleasing places on our blogs' webpages), not coincided with my blog's judging, the outcome of this match might have been different. But, of course, that's pure speculation. It's just as possible that John would have found other design problems anyway.
I'm also well aware of my own culpability in the matter, since one of my last five posts (the content of which was judged as part of the tournament) was basically a lamentation about this issue and didn't do a thing to help me pick up the extra point I needed to tie the score. However, in my own defense, I will say that I believe in keeping my readers informed about what's going on, because community is what a blog is all about. I could have ignored the issue and continued to write totally unrelated "pillar" content (which might have helped me win), but I'm not sure that would have been entirely fair to my readers. (I will admit, though, that I probably could have complained a bit less in that post; and for that I apologize.)
The Blog is Still the Same, the Blogger a Little Wiser!
Despite this setback, Writer's Notes is fine and will continue to provide the same "information, inspiration, encouragement, and resources" for which it's become known. John Hewitt was honest in his assessment and, along with his constructive criticism, also had some very nice things to say about Writer's Notes--and about me--in his review, which I appreciate.
I didn't choose to enter this tournament. (I never would have with a PR 0.) The decision was made for me by John himself. (In fact, I'm still amazed that I did get in with my lack of PR, since John chose the entrants based on a combination of Google PR and Alexa ranking. I've just learned, though, that he assigned a value of PR 1 to all the PR 0 blogs for calculation purposes.) Though the loss was tough, I'm glad I had the opportunity to be matched with a much more experienced blogger and find that I gave her a run for her money!
Despite my loss (or perhaps because of it), this has been an excellent learning experience. For one thing, it's made me realize that complacency isn't a good thing. I should have continuously sought ways to make my blog's design better. And while the untimely Orble formatting experiment likely played a significant role and there are limits to what I'm able to control from my end, there were undoubtedly a few things I could have done to mitigate the problem. Live and learn, as they say! I now know that I shouldn't allow myself to become too comfortable, but should always be experimenting and looking for little (and big!) ways to improve my blog.*
Thanks, John, for giving me that incentive!
And thanks to my loyal readers who stick by me despite my blog's design issues!
You're the best!
Jeanne
* In fact, I'm currently experimenting with making the banner ads that have now become part of my preferred template a little less obtrusive. I still don't like them, but I'm attempting to make the best of a bad situation, because I really don't like the other template I'd be forced to use instead (to get rid of the banner ads)--the one with both sidebars on the left. I prefer the more symmetrical look of one sidebar on each side. (I may just be forced to go back to other template, though, if I don't succeed in making the banner ads look acceptable.)
Eternal optimist that I am, I'm still hoping Orble will decide to give us the option of having only link ads across the top of our blogs in the default template. That would be ideal, as far as I'm concerned. (I'm so glad they decided to get rid of the unsightly floating ad tower that created a fourth column in most blog templates, unbalancing our entire blogs! Thanks, Orble, for that!)
Did you enjoy this post? Have any thoughts to share? I'd love to hear from you, because you are what this blog is all about!
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Comment by Joanna Young
It is a terrifying process and I think I was lucky it happened to me before I knew what to expect.
That being said I think it is a good learning process & I know I had to go off and do some rapid redesign work to improve usability and sort my archives out.
I also found it quite a good test to ask myself 'are my last 5 posts good ones' but I agree with you that we should include things that update our readers and admit when things are going wrong - because those are the people we're writing for and who'll stick by us.
As we will you
I'm glad John noticed the strong community dimension here, it's one of your key strengths and I know you put a lot of effort into it, including commenting a lot on other people's blogs
Best wishes
Joanna
Comment by Yvonne Russell
You have a great blog and community here... just unlucky timing with the Orble changes.
You're definitely a winner with all you offer at Writers Notes.
Comment by tlcorbin
Raven
Comment by Anonymous
Comment by John Hewitt
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
Thanks so much for your kind words, understanding, and supportiveness! All are appreciated!
I, too, have learned a lot and have been looking over my options for site navigation and design (which are numerous and sometimes confusing.) Since I've started experimenting a bit more with my site, though, I've discovered some things I didn't realize I could do before, because I didn't understand those options until I actually tried them.
For example, I just learned that I can make my archives more usable--and have done so--by switching to an option that lists all posts for each month, rather than only for the first three months and that only if the reader clicks "More."
With my previous option, all months after the first three were simply listed as month names (in the list that came up after clicking "More"). When a reader clicked on the name of the month, he or she was taken to the actual posts for that entire month, having to scroll through those to look for anything interesting, instead of being able to go directly to a post by clicking its title. Very inconvenient!
It's too bad I didn't notice that before the tournament, because John mentioned that my archives were confusing. But, I guess I really have him to thank for nudging me toward looking for various ways to improve the usability and design of my blog. And while I only have so much to work with, I can at least use every feature I do have to its fullest!
Thanks again for your support!
Jeanne
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
Thanks so much! Your kind thoughts are appreciated! I really feel like a winner with so many wonderful people to support me! And that's far better than winning a contest!
Sincerely,
Jeanne
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
I've written about failure-tolerant leadership before (see Failure-Tolerant Leadership for Writers and Others) and how this business principle can be applied to us as writers (i.e., failure-tolerant self-leadership), and I would certainly be remiss if I didn't practice the principle myself! Setbacks are nothing more than opportunities in disguise--opportunities to learn from our mistakes, reassess our strategy, and move ahead toward ultimate success.
Thanks for your support!
Jeanne
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
It really means a lot to me to know that you feel that way! I, too, count you among my best blogging friends! Thanks so much for that vote of confidence and support!
Blessings,
Jeanne
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
No problem at all! Please don't misunderstand: I'm very flattered that you chose to include my blog in the tournament! That, in itself, was an honor. I didn't mean to complain about the fact--or to suggest that you make it an invitational. I'd be happy to compete again next year--though I don't know if I'd have the nerve to enter voluntarily!
Thanks for stopping by and offering those encouraging words! Glad to hear that you do like my blog despite its shortcomings!. That means a lot!
Thanks again for the visit!
Jeanne
Comment by Lillie Ammann
I was thrilled to see you in the tournament and thought John's review was excellent. I wouldn't consider it a setback at all - to even be chosen to be in the competition was an honor. Sounds like a cliche - it's a honor just to be nominated
Comment by Jeanne Dininni
Writer's Notes
Thanks for the encouraging words! Didn't quite make it to the second round, though. Writer's Notes was eliminated in Round 1.
I do agree that John's review was excellent--and very helpful! And I am indeed honored to have been chosen by him to participate in the tournament at all.
It is a bit of a consolation to me to know that some of the blogs that won their matches actually racked up fewer points than Writer's Notes did. So, whether a blog won or lost was entirely a matter of which blog it competed against. Had actual point values been used to determine which blogs went on to the next round (which probably would have been fairer overall--though I know that's not the way it works in the NBA), the situation just might have been different. But, that wasn't the case, and I figure the least I can do is be a good sport about it.
One shortcoming of the NBA tournament method, I think, is that, while our blogs are always evolving (and the competition certainly provided an incentive for us to improve them), they are actual entities that exist entirely apart from the tournament itself, and their quality isn't based on whether or not they're better than an arbitrarily chosen opponent blog; whereas the whole purpose an NBA team exists is to play the individual games which they either win or lose by demonstrating their superiority (or lack of it) through their actions on the court.
In other words, the whole purpose in basketball is to win a specific game against a specific team. But this isn't an effective way to judge blogs. Blogs are better evaluated using absolute, rather than comparative values, so that inappropriate pair-ups don't cause blogs with fewer points to advance to the next round, while those with more points are eliminated. Just a few (?) of my thoughts on the matter.
(I may be looking at this the wrong way, though I don't think so. I will admit, however, that I could just be a bit too close to the situation to view it with total objectivity.)
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Jeanne