#Bloggiesta Mini-Challenge: How Do I Rate On The 10 Things Bloggers Should Not Do?

As part of the Bloggiesta fun, I’ve taken on the 10 Things Bloggers Should Not Do mini-challenge from Word Lily.  One of the most important parts of Agile and Scrum is the retrospective, so I figured this was a good way to reflect on my blogging habits.  So, how do I stack up?

1. You must not expect results overnight: 4.5/5

I started blogging with no expectations or goals.  It was just meant to be an outlet to share thoughts and experiences.  I certainly have no expectations with respect to making money off the blog, since that was never the intention.  I have to admit, though, I am a little obsessed with checking the stats after a post and get really excited when I see the number of views go up!

2. You must not ignore your readers: 3/5

I haven’t had a lot of comments on my blog so far, so there is not a lot to work with when it comes to writing for my readers.  My first advertised post generated a lot of discussion with my friends on Facebook who have the same background, but I haven’t continued that series of posts.  I did recently receive a suggestion for a future post, which I will write either this weekend or next.  I need to come up with more ways to engage my readers and encourage them to comment on my posts so I can get to know them.

3. You must not scrape another bloggers content: 5/5

I would never, ever, ever quote another blog without giving credit.  Even my blog posts inspired by other blogs or articles always reference the other posts and the author.  I’m not completely savvy at the best ways to do this in the online world, but at least I follow the classic tradition of just writing it in the post.

4. You must not expect success without promoting: 3/5

I waited until I had three posts written before promoting my blog.  I promote it on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Plaxo.  I’ve told people about my blog and scribbled the address on the back of my business card.  I know there is more I could do and I still have a lot to learn.

5. You must not be another blogger: 4/5

I am still finding my voice, but I know that will evolve.  I am also very conscious that what I write is out in the wide world, which tends to make me a bit reserved.  I can definitely say, though, that I am not trying to be another blogger.  I’m just conservative with respect to being myself.

6. You must not fail to update your blog regularly:  3/5

I went almost two months between my first and second “official” post.  For 2011, I committed to the WordPress Post-A-Week challenge to ensure I would post regularly.  I was two days late on last week’s post 😦  It is also less than a month in on the challenge, so it’s not a habit yet.

7. You must not ignore SEO:  1/5

I’m not ignoring it.  I just don’t know much about it and how this blog measures up.  It’s on my Backlog.

8. You must not ignore networking:  3/5

I’ve been on Facebook for years, but I’m new to Twitter and I haven’t really unleashed the networking power of other social networks.  I view this the same as #4.

9. You must not have an unreadable/unnavigable site:  4/5

I don’t have a ton of content yet, so it’s pretty easy to navigate.  I picked a clean theme, I avoid too many widgets, and it’s pretty well organized.  There are some things I would like to do to improve it.  We’ll see if I can hold this score as the content grows…

10. You must not throw mud around: 5/5

Haven’t done it.  It’s not in my nature to do something like that in such a public space.  This is a blog about my professional life, so it always has to be professional.

Hmmm… looks like I think I’m an average blogging newbie.  If you’re reading some of my past posts, would you agree with my assessment?  I would appreciate your feedback in the comments 🙂