I love blogging. As I've said before, I don't plan on stopping anytime soon. As a matter of fact, with Xmas behind me and Wednesday through Friday off, I may finally have the time to sit down and start writing content again.
For now, I wanted to announce to everyone that I have started a second blog, titled Unending in Azeroth. This blog is a World of Warcraft blog.
I decided to make a second blog to talk about WoW to keep my audiences distinct. Most of you who have followed me for so long for my thoughts on achievements, the Xbox 360, or console gaming in general (plus my random ramblings) may not care one bit about WoW, so why push in front of you content you don't want? Likewise, are most WoW fans going to care about my thoughts on New Vegas's Hardcore mode? Unlikely.
Now, there's still a reason to follow my WoW blog, even if you don't play the game. That blog is not primarily intended to be a journal of my exploits in the game. While it will do that, I want to use it as a place to discuss social dynamics in-game and other social aspect that come with playing an MMO. So, if you're looking for some educated opinions (I got a degree in Sociology) about the largest Virtual Environment in human history, keep your eye on that blog.
I just threw it up tonight, so it doesn't have all the bells and whistles I want to add to it. That's a project for another night.
Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts
Monday, December 27, 2010
Saturday, November 13, 2010
...And Then There Were Two...
As I loaded up my blogger today, I noticed something interesting. Virtually every post clogging the info feed for new posts came from two blogs: Stallion83's, and a general nerd-life blog called Cheap Geek Anonymous. You could practicaly see a virtual tumbleweed roll across the screen of every other blog I follow.
I know jackanape will keep at it as he has time, though he's been infrequent of late. And Bishop, who came roaring back with posts for a while, has likewise quieted down. I do expect to see things from both of them again.
But every other blog I follow? Dead. I'm considering going on an unfollow spree for blogs that haven't put up a post in more than a month. Why clog my list with the husks of discarded blogs? Which means, we're down to only a few achievement-whore centric blogs out there:
#1: 1 Million Gamerscore (no contest)
#2: My blog (as far as I know, feel free to advise me if you think there's another blog that should have this spot)
#3: jackanape's blog.
That's it. (Bishop was not included because, though he is an achievement whore like the rest of us, he's taken his blog in the direction of news and reviews, and as far as I've seen does not use the space to discuss achievements or what he's playing).
Anybody else out their writing on our hobby? Sounds like a research project for when NaNoWriMo is done and I'm not spending a couple hours a day writing...
I know jackanape will keep at it as he has time, though he's been infrequent of late. And Bishop, who came roaring back with posts for a while, has likewise quieted down. I do expect to see things from both of them again.
But every other blog I follow? Dead. I'm considering going on an unfollow spree for blogs that haven't put up a post in more than a month. Why clog my list with the husks of discarded blogs? Which means, we're down to only a few achievement-whore centric blogs out there:
#1: 1 Million Gamerscore (no contest)
#2: My blog (as far as I know, feel free to advise me if you think there's another blog that should have this spot)
#3: jackanape's blog.
That's it. (Bishop was not included because, though he is an achievement whore like the rest of us, he's taken his blog in the direction of news and reviews, and as far as I've seen does not use the space to discuss achievements or what he's playing).
Anybody else out their writing on our hobby? Sounds like a research project for when NaNoWriMo is done and I'm not spending a couple hours a day writing...
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Callout to the Audience
All of us find ourselves in a rut sometimes. I can be from exhaustion, disinterest, indecision, and number of things. I feel like I'm in a bit of a rut with this blog, and and calling out to you, oh faithful readers, for some advice. Or just a strong kick in the ass, your pick =)
This blog isn't going away. It'd keep going even if nobody read it, which is a statement I've made multiple times and stand behind, so don't think for a second I'm considering hanging up the blog. Won't happen.
When this blog started, it was just a personal outlet to discuss what gaming shenanigams I've been up to, and who I'm playing with. While I have no problem with people in the industry gazing upon this blog (with the understanding that it's an "off-the-clock" personal blog and I represent only myself here), I've never aggressively used it as an outlet to "advertise" myself to those people. I've written special topics, some fun things like my dream videogame, or various predictions of the future (which I intend to eventually revisit and see how they turned out). I've made some great posts and built a fair following, and I'm happy about that.
But let's not kid ourselves, little of any real importance has been said on this blog in the last three months. I know, I checked. I could have looked farther back, but I honestly cringe to do so. I'll be completely honest so you all don't have to say it: For the vast part of 2010, ThrawnOmega's Blog on the Gaming Life has been... mediocre.
So, oh faithful readers, my question for you is, as I look to invest more energy into this blog and reestablish it as a proud example of my writing, what would you like me to focus on the most? I offer here some suggestions and thoughs, but you may offer any advice or ideas you thing of.
Note that I have no interest in becoming your personal source of news on all things in the gaming industry. There's a thousand sites offering info on every new release, every trailer that's posted, every preview snippet, every list of what X games are being released released in Y month... I won't waste your time copy/pasting info you already saw elsewhere, unless I have some substantial commentary to add to it, where the news is really just there to provide context to what I want to say.
I have a decent catalogue of game reviews. Do you want to see me focus more strongly on game reviews?
Do I devote more time into interesting and/or random special topics? If you've followed most of this blog's history, you'll know this means general randomness and expanded opinions on a topic, not to be confused with serious editorials. Special features are meant to entertain, not really inform.
Do I become more serious and offer you my serious thoughts through insightful editorials on the gaming industry? These would be researched, thoughtful articles, but you're going to see less posts due to the time involved in making them.
Do I pursue relationships with other bloggers towards possible guest posting arrangements, where I post for their blog and/or someone else drops into mine?
SHould I stick my heels in deep and write this blog as if I was someone working professionally in the industry, and move this blog much more in the direction of a marketing tool for careers in the industry?
Some combination of all of the above?
I'd love to hear your thoughts. I've never been to proud to solicit outside feedback and use it to improve my work. For now, I'm keeping my own leaning of each of the offered ideas to myself for the most part, as I don't want to bias your thinking... except for that first item. I will not to "hard news." I won't churn out what other people are posting everywhere else around the internet, so if I can't make something uniquely mine, I'm not writing it. (No smart-a**es looking through the archives for any contradictions to this LOL)
Be vocal! Let your thoughts be heard!
This blog isn't going away. It'd keep going even if nobody read it, which is a statement I've made multiple times and stand behind, so don't think for a second I'm considering hanging up the blog. Won't happen.
When this blog started, it was just a personal outlet to discuss what gaming shenanigams I've been up to, and who I'm playing with. While I have no problem with people in the industry gazing upon this blog (with the understanding that it's an "off-the-clock" personal blog and I represent only myself here), I've never aggressively used it as an outlet to "advertise" myself to those people. I've written special topics, some fun things like my dream videogame, or various predictions of the future (which I intend to eventually revisit and see how they turned out). I've made some great posts and built a fair following, and I'm happy about that.
But let's not kid ourselves, little of any real importance has been said on this blog in the last three months. I know, I checked. I could have looked farther back, but I honestly cringe to do so. I'll be completely honest so you all don't have to say it: For the vast part of 2010, ThrawnOmega's Blog on the Gaming Life has been... mediocre.
So, oh faithful readers, my question for you is, as I look to invest more energy into this blog and reestablish it as a proud example of my writing, what would you like me to focus on the most? I offer here some suggestions and thoughs, but you may offer any advice or ideas you thing of.
Note that I have no interest in becoming your personal source of news on all things in the gaming industry. There's a thousand sites offering info on every new release, every trailer that's posted, every preview snippet, every list of what X games are being released released in Y month... I won't waste your time copy/pasting info you already saw elsewhere, unless I have some substantial commentary to add to it, where the news is really just there to provide context to what I want to say.
I have a decent catalogue of game reviews. Do you want to see me focus more strongly on game reviews?
Do I devote more time into interesting and/or random special topics? If you've followed most of this blog's history, you'll know this means general randomness and expanded opinions on a topic, not to be confused with serious editorials. Special features are meant to entertain, not really inform.
Do I become more serious and offer you my serious thoughts through insightful editorials on the gaming industry? These would be researched, thoughtful articles, but you're going to see less posts due to the time involved in making them.
Do I pursue relationships with other bloggers towards possible guest posting arrangements, where I post for their blog and/or someone else drops into mine?
SHould I stick my heels in deep and write this blog as if I was someone working professionally in the industry, and move this blog much more in the direction of a marketing tool for careers in the industry?
Some combination of all of the above?
I'd love to hear your thoughts. I've never been to proud to solicit outside feedback and use it to improve my work. For now, I'm keeping my own leaning of each of the offered ideas to myself for the most part, as I don't want to bias your thinking... except for that first item. I will not to "hard news." I won't churn out what other people are posting everywhere else around the internet, so if I can't make something uniquely mine, I'm not writing it. (No smart-a**es looking through the archives for any contradictions to this LOL)
Be vocal! Let your thoughts be heard!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
New Blog Feature Coming: Ask Silva!
I had a recent flash of inspiration last night, which my friend Silva was quite happy to go along with (which is good, since he'll be doing most of the work), and thus, a unique new feature will be coming to this blog soon.
BL4CK SiLv4 is frequently the life of the Xbox Live Party, and doesn't hold back on sounding off on the things that irritate, infuriate, and annoy him, and the ensuing rants are frequently hilarious. "Ask Silva" will be modeled after the advice columns we've all seen in newspapers. Silva will be asked an open-ended question, and he'll have the opportunity to ramble and rant to his heart's content. Eventually, Silva may take questions from the audience, but to get things started, I'll be asking the first few questions.
Look for "Ask Silva" to be a weekly or bi-weekly part of this blog, depending on how he takes to it. We're still getting this segment rolling.
The first segment of "Ask Silva" will debut as soon as I hear back from Silva. He has a pair of questions to work with, but I can't get replies until x360a is back up. The first question is about the Gears 2 multiplayer experience... enjoy!
BL4CK SiLv4 is frequently the life of the Xbox Live Party, and doesn't hold back on sounding off on the things that irritate, infuriate, and annoy him, and the ensuing rants are frequently hilarious. "Ask Silva" will be modeled after the advice columns we've all seen in newspapers. Silva will be asked an open-ended question, and he'll have the opportunity to ramble and rant to his heart's content. Eventually, Silva may take questions from the audience, but to get things started, I'll be asking the first few questions.
Look for "Ask Silva" to be a weekly or bi-weekly part of this blog, depending on how he takes to it. We're still getting this segment rolling.
The first segment of "Ask Silva" will debut as soon as I hear back from Silva. He has a pair of questions to work with, but I can't get replies until x360a is back up. The first question is about the Gears 2 multiplayer experience... enjoy!
Saturday, June 6, 2009
A *TENTATIVE* look at Achievement Blogging
As promised, I've been around the web looking for blogs primarily about achievement points, which is surly a small niche of the game blogging population. I didn't approach this with the same rigor I did my MMO work (I was getting paid and getting credits for that, where this way just a casual interest), but I found what I could. The challenge is there are many sites that offer blogging within that site (1-up and Gamespot as examples), and I haven't thought of an efficient way to sift through those blogs to see if any are primarily about this hobby or not. So, all the blogs here are affiliated with with Blogger, which is a dedicated blogging site, and much easier to track.
I make no claim that I found every achievement blog out there. I'm certain I didn't, which is why I call all opinions here tentative and should be taken with a grain of salt. (And I apologize if any of the numbers are a little off, or I fudge up the title of someone's blog a little bit)
Blogs will be looked at by the order they established themselves, number of followers, and number of posts, then I'll make some general comments.
First, to give a rough timeline for the growth of this niche hobby, I'll present the list of blogs I looked at in the order they appeared (first post)
Blogs by Appearance Date
2008
The Mind of Marx0r June 30th
Fro's Awesome Sauce** July 26th
1 Million Gamerscore September 29th
Follow My Game (Apple x360a) November 30th
Birk-a-Blog December 2nd
The Realm of Endar December 4th
360 Gamerscore (Xylofreak) December 15th
ThrawnOmega's Blog... December 21st
Fro's Awesome Sauce** December 31st
2009
JJB's Gaming Habits Blog Januray 1st
Hammer's Blog on Gaming January 3rd
Sabre x360a Military Gamer January 19th
Crubie January 19th
Bishop's Gaming World March 2nd
Jackanape's Blog* April 29th
DarkTharen's Gaming Life* May 28th
The Irish Dream (NJC Omega) June 2nd
notes:
* These blogs existed before the indicated date, but this begins the day I'm counting. DarkTharen had one on 1-up that I didn't look at extensively (but I'm now following on Blogger), and Jackanape has posts from years back that don't relate to achievements.
** Why is Fro listed twice? The first entry marks his original posts, the second marks when I feel he began posting again in ernest (there were several dead months inbetween).
I was surprised to see Stallion wasn't the first achievement blogger out there, as I had previously assumed. So far, it looks like it's Marx0r (I'm sure that'll make his ego happy ^-^) As you can see, there was quite an increase in blogs from November through January.
Blogs by number of followers (estimated readership)
Note: This isn't a great indicator of readership, but it's the only thing I could think of, so take it for what it's worth. For example, I have 27 followers and 2 feed subscribers, but I average 40-50 hits every day. Stallion has 127 followers, but his blog probably gets 10x that much traffic)
1 Million Gamerscore 127
ThrawnOmega 27
Follow My Game 23
Crubie 23
Mind of Marx0r 21
Fro's Awesome Sauce 21
Hammer's Blog 20
Sabre x360a 16
Birk-a-Blog 14
Bishop's Gaming World 8
JJB's Gaming Habits 7
360 Gamerscore (Xylofreak) 7
Jackanape 7 (follow this blog!!!) {Lets see if you get a 'Thrawn Bump'}
Realm of Endar 5
The Irish Dream 4
DarkTharen 1 (Me!)
Again, take these numbers for what they are worth. Some of these blogs are dead, others get more traffic than their number of followers indicated.
Achievement blogs by total posts (Who is the most prolific?)
ThrawnOmega 113 (Includes this post)
1 Million Gamerscore 88
Mind of Marx0r 44
JJB's Gaming Habits 38
Hammer's Blog on Gaming 36
Follow My Game 29
Jackanape 26
Fro's Awesome Sauce 26
Sabre x360a 21
360 Gamerscore 20
Crubie 18
The Realm of Endar 17
Bishop's Gaming World 14
DarkTharen 5 (since converting to Blogger)
Birk-a-Blog 3
The Irish Dream 2 (It's brand-new)
There you have it folks, I appear to be the most prolific achievement blogger out there. Exactly how many of those posts were worth reading is a matter of personal opinion ^-^
Observations:
As can be expected, not everyone who starts a blog really has what it takes to be a successful blogger, or they decide after a while that blogging just isn't their thing, which is why several of the blogs on this list are dead, with no new posts having arrived in over a month. I'll file Hammer under 'MIA' as I'm hoping he'll get back into it (it's been 5 weeks since his last post).
There are several different approaches to achievement blogging. Some writers are focusing mainly on documenting their progress, while some expand on that to include commentary on the games that've played. While some bloggers are comfortable going off-topic to talk about real-life events, some blogs have never ventured off-topic. I personally like the blogs that are the most well-rounded, including achievement info, game commentary, some personal information (to get a better sense of the writer), and an occasional special topic for variety.
The problem with mining too much from my observations is that I quickly noticed that, generally speaking, everyone is following everyone else's blogs. Virtually everyone I looked at is a member of x360a, and of course, this is only one blogging site of many. So, if there are blogs from achievement fans of other sites, or using other blogging tools, I don't currently know about them. Thus, this is a general look at a particular segment/clique of the achievement blogging population. However, I did do extensive google searching, and wasn't able to find much, so it's quite possible this is a large percentage of the achievement bloggers out there, who knows?
One claim I'm ready to make with certainty is that achievement bloggers are a far, far smaller group of people than those who blog about World of Warcraft, and writers about that game a MUCH more prolific (in terms of number of posts, length of posts, amount of content, everything). If I wanted to do research on achievement fans, I couldn't use blogs as a tool, becuase there isn't nearly enough data for it.
It'll be interesting to see where achievment blogging (and blogging about games in general) goes in the future, and to see how many members may be joining our ranks through the rest of 2009.
If you want to know more about any of the blogs seen here, and you can't find them on your own, let me know. I'll post links as necessary.
One more thing, if you enjoy my blog, you'll probably like jackanape's as well. A fellow member of the review team for x360a, he's been getting into the swing of achievement blogging, and is pretty regular with updates. I expect him to eventually reach #2 most prolific if he keeps going strong. He's expressed an interest in doing some special topics of his own, so it'll be interesting to see what he does over the coming months. You can check out his blog HERE. His blog is too good to have a mere 7 followers ^-^
There you go Lee. Let me know when you've PayPal-ed me the sum we agreed upon =P
I make no claim that I found every achievement blog out there. I'm certain I didn't, which is why I call all opinions here tentative and should be taken with a grain of salt. (And I apologize if any of the numbers are a little off, or I fudge up the title of someone's blog a little bit)
Blogs will be looked at by the order they established themselves, number of followers, and number of posts, then I'll make some general comments.
First, to give a rough timeline for the growth of this niche hobby, I'll present the list of blogs I looked at in the order they appeared (first post)
Blogs by Appearance Date
2008
The Mind of Marx0r June 30thFro's Awesome Sauce** July 26th
1 Million Gamerscore September 29th
Follow My Game (Apple x360a) November 30th
Birk-a-Blog December 2nd
The Realm of Endar December 4th
360 Gamerscore (Xylofreak) December 15th
ThrawnOmega's Blog... December 21st
Fro's Awesome Sauce** December 31st
2009
JJB's Gaming Habits Blog Januray 1st
Hammer's Blog on Gaming January 3rd
Sabre x360a Military Gamer January 19th
Crubie January 19th
Bishop's Gaming World March 2nd
Jackanape's Blog* April 29th
DarkTharen's Gaming Life* May 28th
The Irish Dream (NJC Omega) June 2nd
notes:
* These blogs existed before the indicated date, but this begins the day I'm counting. DarkTharen had one on 1-up that I didn't look at extensively (but I'm now following on Blogger), and Jackanape has posts from years back that don't relate to achievements.
** Why is Fro listed twice? The first entry marks his original posts, the second marks when I feel he began posting again in ernest (there were several dead months inbetween).
I was surprised to see Stallion wasn't the first achievement blogger out there, as I had previously assumed. So far, it looks like it's Marx0r (I'm sure that'll make his ego happy ^-^) As you can see, there was quite an increase in blogs from November through January.
Blogs by number of followers (estimated readership)
Note: This isn't a great indicator of readership, but it's the only thing I could think of, so take it for what it's worth. For example, I have 27 followers and 2 feed subscribers, but I average 40-50 hits every day. Stallion has 127 followers, but his blog probably gets 10x that much traffic)
1 Million Gamerscore 127
ThrawnOmega 27
Follow My Game 23
Crubie 23
Mind of Marx0r 21
Fro's Awesome Sauce 21
Hammer's Blog 20
Sabre x360a 16
Birk-a-Blog 14
Bishop's Gaming World 8
JJB's Gaming Habits 7
360 Gamerscore (Xylofreak) 7
Jackanape 7 (follow this blog!!!) {Lets see if you get a 'Thrawn Bump'}
Realm of Endar 5
The Irish Dream 4
DarkTharen 1 (Me!)
Again, take these numbers for what they are worth. Some of these blogs are dead, others get more traffic than their number of followers indicated.
Achievement blogs by total posts (Who is the most prolific?)
ThrawnOmega 113 (Includes this post)
1 Million Gamerscore 88
Mind of Marx0r 44
JJB's Gaming Habits 38
Hammer's Blog on Gaming 36
Follow My Game 29
Jackanape 26
Fro's Awesome Sauce 26
Sabre x360a 21
360 Gamerscore 20
Crubie 18
The Realm of Endar 17
Bishop's Gaming World 14
DarkTharen 5 (since converting to Blogger)
Birk-a-Blog 3
The Irish Dream 2 (It's brand-new)
There you have it folks, I appear to be the most prolific achievement blogger out there. Exactly how many of those posts were worth reading is a matter of personal opinion ^-^
Observations:
As can be expected, not everyone who starts a blog really has what it takes to be a successful blogger, or they decide after a while that blogging just isn't their thing, which is why several of the blogs on this list are dead, with no new posts having arrived in over a month. I'll file Hammer under 'MIA' as I'm hoping he'll get back into it (it's been 5 weeks since his last post).
There are several different approaches to achievement blogging. Some writers are focusing mainly on documenting their progress, while some expand on that to include commentary on the games that've played. While some bloggers are comfortable going off-topic to talk about real-life events, some blogs have never ventured off-topic. I personally like the blogs that are the most well-rounded, including achievement info, game commentary, some personal information (to get a better sense of the writer), and an occasional special topic for variety.
The problem with mining too much from my observations is that I quickly noticed that, generally speaking, everyone is following everyone else's blogs. Virtually everyone I looked at is a member of x360a, and of course, this is only one blogging site of many. So, if there are blogs from achievement fans of other sites, or using other blogging tools, I don't currently know about them. Thus, this is a general look at a particular segment/clique of the achievement blogging population. However, I did do extensive google searching, and wasn't able to find much, so it's quite possible this is a large percentage of the achievement bloggers out there, who knows?
One claim I'm ready to make with certainty is that achievement bloggers are a far, far smaller group of people than those who blog about World of Warcraft, and writers about that game a MUCH more prolific (in terms of number of posts, length of posts, amount of content, everything). If I wanted to do research on achievement fans, I couldn't use blogs as a tool, becuase there isn't nearly enough data for it.
It'll be interesting to see where achievment blogging (and blogging about games in general) goes in the future, and to see how many members may be joining our ranks through the rest of 2009.
If you want to know more about any of the blogs seen here, and you can't find them on your own, let me know. I'll post links as necessary.
One more thing, if you enjoy my blog, you'll probably like jackanape's as well. A fellow member of the review team for x360a, he's been getting into the swing of achievement blogging, and is pretty regular with updates. I expect him to eventually reach #2 most prolific if he keeps going strong. He's expressed an interest in doing some special topics of his own, so it'll be interesting to see what he does over the coming months. You can check out his blog HERE. His blog is too good to have a mere 7 followers ^-^
There you go Lee. Let me know when you've PayPal-ed me the sum we agreed upon =P
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Am I Alone in the Universe? Early Thoughts on Blogging
YOUR HELP NEEDED! PLEASE COMMENT IF YOU HAVE ANY USEFUL INFO =)
Ok, I know I'm not alone in the universe, but I'm very new to this blogging thing, and it sometimes feels like it. I've been writing all my life, and love to do it, so providing the raw content for this blog is a breeze. The other areas of blog life, however, mystify me. Today's format is a little strange, but shouldn't be hard to follow.
QUESTION: Are there other achievement-related blogs out there?
WHAT I KNOW SO FAR: I've only recently become aware of the blogs of a few fellow x360a members, and have not yet had time to give them more that a passing glance. I've read all of Birky's, but there's not a whole lot to read there, as he started his blog the same time I started this. I've tried every search I could think of on google to turn up blogs from gamers writing about achievement points, and found virtually nothing. From what little I did find (through Google), I saw blogs that were written for a bit, and quickly fizzled, or where ongoing, but pretty bad. While World of Warcraft players can find thousands of blogs on their hobby, I can find almost none on mine. What the hell? Are the few of us blogging on achievements actually treading new ground? If there are any major achievement blogs out there I missed, let me know... cause when I think achievement blogs, I think of myself and Stallion83's blog (1 Million Gamerscore) and that's pretty much it. I do plan on checking out those other x360a blogs when I have the time.
NOTE: Raptured Reality, listed in my "I read" list, is a great all-around gaming blog, and I recommend checking it out, but I wouldn't consider it an "achievement blog."
QUESTION: How do I advertise this blog an build a readership?
SO FAR: I've done everything I can without being annoying to promote this blog through x360a. A couple times I've dropped links in the forums to posts here people would find interesting, and I have this blogged linked in my x360a forum signature. As a member of the review team, I have a fair amount of exposure there anyway, and "ThrawnOmega" as well as "Nate Gillick" are beginning to show up a little more often in google searches, which is always happy. However, how do I maximize exposure in that community and beyond it? How does one advertise a blog? I have not looked too much into this yet, as providing quality content remains priority #1 (and I would write this blog anyway, even if nobody read it), but it would be nice to continue putting my name out there. Remember, a large following never hurts when you're trying to convince someone that people read what you write (and thus should pay you).
QUESTION: What's the difference between subscribers and followers?
MY UNDERSTANDING: I think subscribers are people who get your feed and read your blog, but may not blog on there own, while followers are other people with blogs?
BLOG NOTES: You may notice I've made a few changes to the blog's format today. I've made myself a Feedburner account and changed the feed for this blog, which is now simply http://feeds.feedburner.com/thrawnomega. Spread the word to your friends! =P This change should make it easier for people to subscribe, and it allows me to track how many subscribers I have, as well as how many hits this blog gets, and what people are reading. It's a valuable tool for me to see how I'm doing and make an ever-better blog.
MY (Crazy?) GOAL: The total number of readers of this blog (subscribers + followers) equals 100 or greater by the end of 2009. The year is young, and I'm just getting started. Is this number too low? Impossibly high? I know not, but it's the number I picked, so I'm going to shoot for it until it's mine, then set my sights even higher. (95 to go =P)
Here's to my continuous quest to write one of the best achievement (and gaming) blogs on the internet, and writing the best content I can. I thank you all in advance for your support, and any advice you can provide me on how to make this better =)
Ok, I know I'm not alone in the universe, but I'm very new to this blogging thing, and it sometimes feels like it. I've been writing all my life, and love to do it, so providing the raw content for this blog is a breeze. The other areas of blog life, however, mystify me. Today's format is a little strange, but shouldn't be hard to follow.
QUESTION: Are there other achievement-related blogs out there?
WHAT I KNOW SO FAR: I've only recently become aware of the blogs of a few fellow x360a members, and have not yet had time to give them more that a passing glance. I've read all of Birky's, but there's not a whole lot to read there, as he started his blog the same time I started this. I've tried every search I could think of on google to turn up blogs from gamers writing about achievement points, and found virtually nothing. From what little I did find (through Google), I saw blogs that were written for a bit, and quickly fizzled, or where ongoing, but pretty bad. While World of Warcraft players can find thousands of blogs on their hobby, I can find almost none on mine. What the hell? Are the few of us blogging on achievements actually treading new ground? If there are any major achievement blogs out there I missed, let me know... cause when I think achievement blogs, I think of myself and Stallion83's blog (1 Million Gamerscore) and that's pretty much it. I do plan on checking out those other x360a blogs when I have the time.
NOTE: Raptured Reality, listed in my "I read" list, is a great all-around gaming blog, and I recommend checking it out, but I wouldn't consider it an "achievement blog."
QUESTION: How do I advertise this blog an build a readership?
SO FAR: I've done everything I can without being annoying to promote this blog through x360a. A couple times I've dropped links in the forums to posts here people would find interesting, and I have this blogged linked in my x360a forum signature. As a member of the review team, I have a fair amount of exposure there anyway, and "ThrawnOmega" as well as "Nate Gillick" are beginning to show up a little more often in google searches, which is always happy. However, how do I maximize exposure in that community and beyond it? How does one advertise a blog? I have not looked too much into this yet, as providing quality content remains priority #1 (and I would write this blog anyway, even if nobody read it), but it would be nice to continue putting my name out there. Remember, a large following never hurts when you're trying to convince someone that people read what you write (and thus should pay you).
QUESTION: What's the difference between subscribers and followers?
MY UNDERSTANDING: I think subscribers are people who get your feed and read your blog, but may not blog on there own, while followers are other people with blogs?
BLOG NOTES: You may notice I've made a few changes to the blog's format today. I've made myself a Feedburner account and changed the feed for this blog, which is now simply http://feeds.feedburner.com/thrawnomega. Spread the word to your friends! =P This change should make it easier for people to subscribe, and it allows me to track how many subscribers I have, as well as how many hits this blog gets, and what people are reading. It's a valuable tool for me to see how I'm doing and make an ever-better blog.
MY (Crazy?) GOAL: The total number of readers of this blog (subscribers + followers) equals 100 or greater by the end of 2009. The year is young, and I'm just getting started. Is this number too low? Impossibly high? I know not, but it's the number I picked, so I'm going to shoot for it until it's mine, then set my sights even higher. (95 to go =P)
Here's to my continuous quest to write one of the best achievement (and gaming) blogs on the internet, and writing the best content I can. I thank you all in advance for your support, and any advice you can provide me on how to make this better =)
Sunday, December 21, 2008
The Big Post to Kick Things Off
Sit down in a nice comfy chair and settle in, as this first post will probably big a long one. I figure it's not a bad idea to set down from the start the rules of the blog, and the blog's purpose. I'm leaving these near the top of this entry because I feel they're highly important, so I'll cover them before moving on to other matters.
Rules of the blog:
1. I give myself free reign to criticize games if they fail to deliver in gameplay mechanics, are buggy, unoriginal, or just generally mediocre. The blog will never be used as a platform to take cheap shots at or make criticisms of others (praise, however, may be lavished where it is due). If you're looking for drama of that nature, read someone else's blog.
2. I will not post comments on any review I'm working on before that review has been finished and posted to xbox360achievements.org. The reason for this is that my opinions on a game may change over the course of the game, where a game that seems brilliant in the opening hours could fall to pieces, or visa versa. I take reviewing games very seriously, and want to make sure my opinion is well-formed before I open my mouth, so to speak. Once the review is complete, I'll allow myself some more "off the clock" commentary if appropriate.
3. This blog is not a resume. It is, however, meant to convey who I am as a gamer and a human being, and provide a more personal side that cold-cut resumes can't. Therefore, I shall approach this blog as something I wouldn't mind friends, fans, or professional game writers having a look over. I want to keep this casual and fun. The reviews shall be my professional writing samples.
4. Unless it gets to the point where I'm receiving more comments than I can handle (probably not likely in the near future), I shall try to respond here to any comments readers have.
The Purposes of the Blog:
1. As stated in rule three, this blog is meant to be the casual expression of myself as person and gamer. I would have no objection to any game magazine/website editor reading through it to get a sense of who I am. I want to have a blast with this, and will look to my reviews to represent my formal writing.
2. Write editorials on the gaming industry. From time to time I may be moved to post something more serious here to show I'm paying attention to happenings in the industry beyond what's happening on my xbox.
3. Chronicle my achievement progress and opinions on my games in a more personal fashion than 360voice can. I love that site, but I want to get more in-depth than a mere summary of what I did.
More rules/purposes may be added in the future, but I think that's sufficient for now. I'll do my best to keep this blog updated on a near-daily basis, for my own personal satisfaction, if nothing else. I'll wrap this with a few personal notes, then start in earnest tomorrow.
Next up on the docket for reviewing is Rise of the Argonauts from Codemasters. I shall say no more on that game right now so I don't violate rule #2. It hasn't arrived yet, but hopefully it shall soon so I can get started.
As we near the end of the year, I've made a few gaming-related goals to pursue for 2009. First of all, I want to get my gamerscore about 100k. Considering the number of easy games I have not yet played, and the amount of awesome games coming out, scoring 30k points shouldn't be that hard (thank God for Gamefly and great bargin-bin skills). The other goal is to increase my completion percentage from it's current state of about 57% to the lofty 75%. Money doesn't grow on trees, and I figure it would be a good idea for a while to get more milage out of games I already own and pick up points previously left on the table than constantly buy/rent new games.
Before I quit for the evening, I'd like to thank everyone who has supported me thus far with positive feedback and appreciating for my reviews. The work is a lot more fun when you know what you're writing is being read, and that people find the information useful. Writing the Dead Space review was a stressful experience, as it was my first very high-profile review, but the positive response to seems to have killed worry in me permanently, as I handled Fallout 3 and Gears 2 without any apprehension of hesitation. Confidence is a wonderful thing. Keep reading them, and I pledge to continue striving to make them among the best reviews you'll find anywhere.
That's enough for now. On tap for tomorrow are some (hopefully) interesting thoughts on the blogging world of World of Warcraft, and student-faculty collaborative research. It'll all make sense, trust me.
EDIT: You may find typos and other stupid mistakes in this blog, as I don't edit this to the extent I do formal reviews. I promise to always run a spell check, at least =)
Rules of the blog:
1. I give myself free reign to criticize games if they fail to deliver in gameplay mechanics, are buggy, unoriginal, or just generally mediocre. The blog will never be used as a platform to take cheap shots at or make criticisms of others (praise, however, may be lavished where it is due). If you're looking for drama of that nature, read someone else's blog.
2. I will not post comments on any review I'm working on before that review has been finished and posted to xbox360achievements.org. The reason for this is that my opinions on a game may change over the course of the game, where a game that seems brilliant in the opening hours could fall to pieces, or visa versa. I take reviewing games very seriously, and want to make sure my opinion is well-formed before I open my mouth, so to speak. Once the review is complete, I'll allow myself some more "off the clock" commentary if appropriate.
3. This blog is not a resume. It is, however, meant to convey who I am as a gamer and a human being, and provide a more personal side that cold-cut resumes can't. Therefore, I shall approach this blog as something I wouldn't mind friends, fans, or professional game writers having a look over. I want to keep this casual and fun. The reviews shall be my professional writing samples.
4. Unless it gets to the point where I'm receiving more comments than I can handle (probably not likely in the near future), I shall try to respond here to any comments readers have.
The Purposes of the Blog:
1. As stated in rule three, this blog is meant to be the casual expression of myself as person and gamer. I would have no objection to any game magazine/website editor reading through it to get a sense of who I am. I want to have a blast with this, and will look to my reviews to represent my formal writing.
2. Write editorials on the gaming industry. From time to time I may be moved to post something more serious here to show I'm paying attention to happenings in the industry beyond what's happening on my xbox.
3. Chronicle my achievement progress and opinions on my games in a more personal fashion than 360voice can. I love that site, but I want to get more in-depth than a mere summary of what I did.
More rules/purposes may be added in the future, but I think that's sufficient for now. I'll do my best to keep this blog updated on a near-daily basis, for my own personal satisfaction, if nothing else. I'll wrap this with a few personal notes, then start in earnest tomorrow.
Next up on the docket for reviewing is Rise of the Argonauts from Codemasters. I shall say no more on that game right now so I don't violate rule #2. It hasn't arrived yet, but hopefully it shall soon so I can get started.
As we near the end of the year, I've made a few gaming-related goals to pursue for 2009. First of all, I want to get my gamerscore about 100k. Considering the number of easy games I have not yet played, and the amount of awesome games coming out, scoring 30k points shouldn't be that hard (thank God for Gamefly and great bargin-bin skills). The other goal is to increase my completion percentage from it's current state of about 57% to the lofty 75%. Money doesn't grow on trees, and I figure it would be a good idea for a while to get more milage out of games I already own and pick up points previously left on the table than constantly buy/rent new games.
Before I quit for the evening, I'd like to thank everyone who has supported me thus far with positive feedback and appreciating for my reviews. The work is a lot more fun when you know what you're writing is being read, and that people find the information useful. Writing the Dead Space review was a stressful experience, as it was my first very high-profile review, but the positive response to seems to have killed worry in me permanently, as I handled Fallout 3 and Gears 2 without any apprehension of hesitation. Confidence is a wonderful thing. Keep reading them, and I pledge to continue striving to make them among the best reviews you'll find anywhere.
That's enough for now. On tap for tomorrow are some (hopefully) interesting thoughts on the blogging world of World of Warcraft, and student-faculty collaborative research. It'll all make sense, trust me.
EDIT: You may find typos and other stupid mistakes in this blog, as I don't edit this to the extent I do formal reviews. I promise to always run a spell check, at least =)
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