A month or so ago I posted Blog Review - Yours & Mine to see what I might get for feedback about my writing efforts, and to spend some time taking a deeper look at my Blog Likes & Dislikes. The effort was mildly sucessful overall. I had a good handful of bloggers (mainly SQL focused) respond to me and overall the results were positive, with no deep negatives. I asked different people to try looking at it different ways. Here's one example, with the replies:
· Comments on my about page, does it do a good job of showing who I am/my interests (professionally that is)
I believe it does, yes. My perception is that you spend a good amount of time on technical items, but you also spend a good amount of time on professional development. In short, you look to help people professionally in multiple areas, similar to what I would expect from a coach or mentor. The question now is: do you feel that is the image you want to present?
· Thoughts on the mix of content, do I spend too much/too little time on some topics?
I think it is a very good mix of content. As I mentioned previously, you have a good amount of technical blogs, but a lot of crossover to professional development, user groups, etc. I enjoy the mix you provide, as opposed to some blogs that are dry and predictable.· How do I come across as a blogger?
Honestly, I think you come across very well, because i see your blog as a type of tech/mentor/coach, which is fairly unique. Most blogs these days are very one dimensional, but yours is not.· Is length of posts ok, or shorter/longer?
For me, the average length is perfect.· What could I do to make the blog content better?
I wish I had an idea for you, but i think it is pretty good as is. I like the simplicity of the site itself, and the content is solid
I don't think I could ask for much better, and it's good to know that it's not terrible! Though some good negative feedback (see Mechanical Posts) is actually more valuable, if you can see past your pride or determine that the criticism isn't quite pertinent - jury still out on that particular issue, I'll try to improve the next time I have external content published.
It was an interesting exercise, and probably more interesting if you don't have the benefit of a friend or two that also blogs and can give you more low level feedback. Like most things finding someone to really coach you to the next level is unlikely, you're stuck with experimenting with ideas until you find something that works better than what you currently do, even if only by a few percentage points.
Thanks to all who sent comments, and to those I reviewed, hopefully those comments were interesting and usable.
