Game 26: #1 Seed Daily Writing Tips Versus #6 Seed Crime Fiction Dossier
April 30, 2008
The Matchup
Top-seeded Daily Writing Tips has survived two close matches to move forward in the competition. They have thousands of subscribers and a pool of five regular writers that keep the content flowing. Crime Fiction Dossier is a little blog with a loyal following and a unique niche. They have done well so far as a tournament Cinderella, but they haven’t been tested by a blog this size before.
Best Headlines
Judging by the ten most recent articles, DWT has both straightforward headlines and the occasional humorous headline such as Andro- The Prefix That’s All Man and Reduplicatives - Double Delight. The best headlines at CFD tend to ask a question, such as, Are you sure you want to be a writer? and Are writers conferences worth the money? CFD isn’t as funny, but those are headlines that make me want to read more.
I’m going to have to call a jump ball on this one. Both have their strengths and neither is clearly superior. We begin our contest at 0-0.
Best User Experience
DWT has a nice, professional looking blog design. I’m not positive if they have made any changes, but it looks a little cleaner than it did in the first round. DWT is great at providing users with the features they want and keeps the features well organized. I don’t remember CFD having a fat banner ad in the first round, but it is certainly distracting me now. Otherwise, the design is clean and the user features seem to all be accounted for.
DWT gets the ball and works it inside, scoring two from the paint. It is now 2-0 in favor of DWT.
Best Community Experience
The size of the DWT comment community is a bit small for a blog as large as theirs. They have, however, just opened up a community forum, and it does seem to be drawing a solid amount of postings. CFD has an excellent community, especially for such a small blog. The community is filled with published fiction writers who know the subject (crime fiction) as well as the blog author does.
CFD slips by DWT and drives to the basket, putting in a two of its own. The score is now tied at 2-2.
Best Branding
CFD sticks to its topic and attracts an intelligent crowd. If you are looking for a place to read about crime fiction, CFD is one of the few places you can go. The site is great in its niche, and that gives it a solid brand. Unfortunately, it isn’t attracting a large audience, so you do have to wonder when CFD is going to find a way to get discovered. DWT is both popular and respected. They have accomplished this in a single year, which is blazingly fast for a blog. Clearly they know how to position themselves and drive traffic to their blog.
DWT gets the ball back and throws up an alley oop, putting the ball in for two. The score is now 4-2 in favor of DWT.
Best Archives
I give DWT credit for putting all of their posts on a single archive page. They are in chronological order, which isn’t exactly the best way to organize articles that aren’t time-sensitive, but at least you can view everything they have. Additionally, DWT keeps a list of popular posts on all of its pages, so that you can see what others have liked in the past. CFD doesn’t have an archives page. You can click on the categories to get full articles by subject, but that’s about it for navigation.
CFD turns the ball over and DWT takes advantage, pulling up and shooting a three-pointer. The score is now 7-2 in DWT’s favor.
Best Post
CFD’s article, Are writers conferences worth the money?, Struck a cord with me because I have been to a few writers’ conferences, but have never really felt that they got me any closer to getting published. David J. Montgomery reviews this from the perspective of a published author, and shows that it still makes little sense financially but can be worthwhile for the chance to get involved in the writing community. The posting generated 50 comments, with people both praising and criticizing writer’s conferences.
Sharon Hurley Hall’s article, Reduplicatives - Double Delight, is a classic DWT article, explaining an English writing term and giving examples. The style is light but the information is accurate and valuable.
CFD gets the ball back and heads down the court one last time, driving to the basked and sinking a two. The final score is 7-4 in favor of DWT.
Post Game Analysis
Crime Fiction Dossier is an excellent blog with a lot to offer. Its community is small but vocal and its information is interesting for that community. The lack of an archive page and the big ad under the banner cost CFD some valuable points though. Daily Writing Tips has a professional looking, user-friendly design and has established itself very quickly as an overall writing resource. That’s what put it over the top.
The Articles
So people can compare for themselves, here are the past 10 articles from each site:
Daily Writing Tips
50 Open Source Resources for Writers
Setting Your Freelance Writing Fees
Andro- The Prefix That’s All Man
Reduplicatives - Double Delight
The Daily Writing Tips Forum is Live
Crime Fiction Dossier
Are you sure you want to be a writer?
Are writers conferences worth the money?
Book of the Week: “The Blue Religion” (ed. Michael Connelly)
Ask the Critic: Can you identify this book?
Book of the Week: Richard Price’s “Lush Life”
Latest Chicago Sun-Times roundup column
Game 25: #3 The Copywriting Maven Versus #4 Seed Confident Writing
April 29, 2008
The Matchup
Confident Writing pulled off a major second round upset by beating top-seeded Copyblogger. The The Copywriting Maven has won twice against lower-seeded competition. Both these blogs are authored by women with strong opinions on writing. One blog is all bout confidence while the other is all about copywriting. Which will come out on top?
Best Headlines
In this first category, copywriting tops confident writing. Confident Writing has a few good headlines, but there are also plenty of yawns. I give Confidents’ Joanna Young some credit for incorporating her monthly theme into the headlines, but none of them jump off the page. Maven’s Roberta Rosenberg writes with the flair of a copywriter. I especially liked Hey, Careful Where You Point That Thing: Use Your Descriptors Wisely. That one was both fun and informative.
Maven breaks for the basket and puts a shot in off the glass. 2-0
Best User Experience
Confident has the cleaner, more attractive page. It makes good use of graphics without bombarding the reader with them and the masthead is professional looking without being flashy, beating out Maven’s blocky banner, which comes complete with a giant Adsense ad. Maven’s site also has some pretty small type. Even my Lasik-sharpened eyes have to squint a little to read her articles. Both sites have plenty of user-centric features, so that’s pretty much a wash.
Confident Writing gets the ball and shoots the ball from the outside, hitting a three pointer. The score is now 3-2 in favor of Confident Writing.
Best Community Experience
Confident tends to get more comments on posts than Maven, despite the fact that Maven gets more traffic. Maven’s Roberta Rosenberg does have a secondary community on Twitter, however, and she converses with them more frequently there. Confidents’ Joanna Young is also on Twitter, but does not promote it as part of her site. I’m not sure if adding Twitter is enough to trump Confident Writing’s comments, but it makes the matter too close to call.
Jump ball. Confident Writing still leads 3-2.
Best Branding
Confident Writing has an excellent habit of picking monthly themes that are related to the overall concept of writing with confidence. Young also does an excellent job of explaining her goals right at the top of the page. The Copywriting Maven lets her message get drowned out by the advertising. Even her banner is dwarfed by the ad underneath it. Maven has a solid focus on copywriting and the writing business, but it isn’t as tight at Confident Writing’s focus on improved writing.
Confident Writing pulls up for another long jumper, extending its lead to 6-2.
Best Archives
Joanna Young has boosted up her archives page this round. You can now find the link at the top of the page, and it comes complete with top articles and browsing by theme and month. It isn’t perfect, but it is a step up. Maven’s archives page remains blank. That just leaves the month-by-month listing on the sidebar.
Confident Writing scores another two, extending its lead to 8-2.
Best Post
There’s been a lot of guest blogging over at Confident Writing. My favorite of the group is 3 Keys to Powerful Writing by Robert Hruzek. It’s a goofy take on three elements of powerful writing (powerful writing is this month’s theme): targets, boundaries and gravity. I’m not sure that I agree, but it was fun to read.
Over at The Copywriting Maven, my favorite recent article is Holding Firm: Thinking Thoughts on the Copywriting Value Proposition. Oddly, it is my least favorite headline, but I enjoyed the copywriting war stories about bad and/or clueless clients. The main theme is getting the appropriate payment for the work you deliver. It is amazing how many people want something for next to nothing.
Copywriting Maven get the ball and heads down court. The game is over, but pride is on the line. Maven kicks back and shoots a two at the buzzer as the game ends. The final score is 8-4 in favor of Confident Writing.
Post Game Analysis
It was a tough match for The Copywriting Maven. The message is good, but gets lost amid the ads and minor site glitches. Confident Writing keeps it simple, and that’s what allows it to move into the Final Four.
The Articles
So people can compare for themselves, here are the past 10 articles from each site:
Confident Writing
The Simple Power Of Words: Guest Post By Debbie Yost
Powerful Writing In 30 Words Or Less: Part III: Twitter Contributions
Show A Little Faith: Thunder Road And The Power Of Your Own Voice
3 Keys to Powerful Writing: Guest Post By Robert Hruzek
Can’t Get To SobCon? Learn With Me
9 Authors And 9 Aspects Of Powerful Writing: Guest Post By Damien Riley
Exploring The Dimensions Of Powerful Writing
The Copywriting Maven
Holding Firm Part 2: Copywriters Ain’t the Only Ones Getting Dissed
Riddle Me This, Maven: What Does Being a (Copy) Writer Mean to You?
Finders Fee: Who Wants to Mail in the UK/Europe?
Holding Firm: Thinking Thoughts on the Copywriting Value Proposition
Released! The Copywriting Maven Landing Page Makeover Compilation
No Tears for Fears! Tips to Manage Your Business Debt Better
Big Apple Bound! Blogger Social ‘08 is about to begin!
MenwithPenswithTips: How to Write Bigger, Better, Stronger Taglines
Hey, Careful Where You Point That Thing: Use Your Descriptors Wisely
Maven’s Mailbag: CLIO wants 12 Jr CW Stars, Email Stats, Boiling Egg Perfection
The Elite Eight Judging Criteria
April 27, 2008
We have reached the Elite Eight of Writing Blog Madness. You can smell the excitement in the air, or at least the stale popcorn being hawked by the vendors roaming the aisles. The second round was brutal. The fans were tested as much as the teams. As we begin this next round, we once again have a twist. We are now are moving on to head-to-head battles. Only one team can score in each category. The scoring team nets two points if slightly superior and three points if clearly dominant. If neither blog is superior in a category, a jump ball is called. No points are awarded and we move on to the next category.
Best Headlines
Some blogs know how to write a headline that makes you want to read more, and some blogs write headlines as if they were turning in a thesis paper on metallurgy. I will be looking at the last 10 posts and judging which blog has the headlines that are the most informative, interesting, and accurate.
Best User Experience
I will be looking at the overall attractiveness of the site, the ease of reading, and the user features to determine who provides the best user experience.
Best Community Experience
I’ll be looking at the last 10 posts to determine who has the best comments. I’ll be looking for a community that is active, intelligent and interesting. I’ll also be looking at how well the blog author or authors interact with the community.
Best Branding
This is a combination of three previous categories: personality, purpose and value. Does the blog have a unique and clear image? Do you know what to expect when you get there and do you get what you want?
Best Archives
The archives category is back and ready to rock. I’ll judge each blog’s archives or “best of” pages on my ability to find them, my ability to navigate them and the general quality of what I find there.
Best Post
This is simple and subjective. I will look at the last 10 postings and pick my favorite article from each blog. I will compare them based on substance and style and decide which blog has the best article. There should be no more worrying about whether I’ll review an announcement or link love. I’ll be looking for good writing and great information.
Tie Breaker
If, for any reason we need a tie breaker, the blog with the most comments over the last 10 posts will be declared the winner.
Writing Blog Madness: The Elite Eight
April 27, 2008
We’ve reached the Elite Eight in our Writing Blog Madness. Two top seeds have fallen as have three second seeds. Here are our remaining contenders, complete with their first and second round matchups.
The Ellis Bracket
4. Confident Writing — Game 1 / Game 2
3. The Copywriting Maven — Game 1 / Game 2
The Janowitz Bracket
1. Daily Writing Tips — Game 1 / Game 2
6. Crime Fiction Dossier — Game 1 / Game 2
The McInerney Bracket
1. John August — Game 1 / Game 2
6. Write From Home — Game 1 / Game 2
The Chabon Bracket
5. Men with Pens — Game 1 / Game 2
2. I’d Rather Be Writing — Game 1 / Game 2
Game 24: #2 Seed I’d Rather Be Writing Versus #6 Seed PODdy Mouth
April 27, 2008
The Matchup
This was supposed to be a head-to-head contest between sixth-seeded PODdy Mouth and second-seeded I’d Rather Be Writing. Unfortunately, PODdy Mouth has been deleted by its author. The blog has been tussling with the print-on-demand publishers it discusses, and it appears that the publishers won. After this article came out, PODdy, which had discussed closing shop after the last attack by publishers, picked up its ball and went home.
Unfortunately, this leaves me with a contestant who wins by default. That isn’t much fun from a tournament standpoint, but nonetheless IRBW deserves to be reviewed, so I will go ahead and review it in each category, although I will dispense with the points because there is no competition.
Community
The author of IRBW, Tom Johnson, doesn’t appear to be interacting with his community. Over the last ten posts Johnson he has not replied to any of the comments. Some of the comments ask him direct questions, but I cannot find any responses to those questions. It is possible that he answers them via email. Despite the lack of interaction, IRBW averages about three comments per post, with one or two comments per post providing helpful information.
Value
IRBW focuses on technical writing and communication. Johnson also discusses some of the surrounding technology such as DITA and WordPress. The focus stays close to the intended topic, but it also includes a good bit of self-promotion. The comments add some value, but are limited.
Top Commented Article #1
Looking for Corporate Examples of Web 2.0 Engagement
Johnson discusses an upcoming class in WordPress that he will be teaching and asks for people to give him examples of companies using Web 2.0 technology such as blogs, wikis and podcasting. Several people provide information in the comments. This isn’t really an educational article so much as a plug for his class.
Top Commented Article #2
WordPress for Beginners Course - Wednesday Evening, April 30
This post also discusses Johnson’s upcoming WordPress class. It gives the list of topics he is expecting to teach. The article makes the class sound interesting, but doesn’t provide much value otherwise. The comments aren’t particularly informative.
Top Commented Article #3
The Broken STC Model - and What’s Replacing It
STC, the Society for Technical Communication, is a professional group for technical writers. I have been a technical writer for twelve years and I have yet to go to a meeting, much less join. I know some people who have been involved with the group, and they have had mixed comments. It appears from this article that I’m really not missing much. Less and less people are showing up. Johnson’s article discusses some possible solutions to STC’s problems, but he does not sound very confident that any of these things would happen or would help. Two commenters offer their own take on the problems.
Post Game Analysis
I would suggest that Johnson get more involved in his community. There are certainly people out there who want to add to the conversation, but they aren’t getting much encouragement.
