Editors Note: This missive has run the last two year’s to encourage involvement in the Best Blogs Contest. Because it worked so well then, and because Bob is essentially a lazy good-for-nothing sloth, it runs again this year. It has been updated to reflect current statistics.
Greetings, fellow bloggers. I do not know if you are aware of it or not, but my company recently launched a “Best Blogs” competition to recognize those of you in the workers’ compensation community who provide top quality, cutting edge, informative content.
Or to at least find those of you who can spell fairly well. Whichever.
This years program has gotten off to a very good start, with almost 100 nominations received within the first few days. However, I’ve noted that just a handful of blogs account for the majority of the nominations. This is what I wanted to discuss with you today.
You see, I’ve learned over the many years we have run this News Center, that the workers’ compensation industry is largely comprised of a shy and reserved population. We are not “highly interactive” when it comes to posting and contributing online. Our news area currently serves between 20,000 and 30,000 article views each and every day. Yet, if we get 5 legitimate comments across the entire news and blog section within a single week it is a banner event, indeed. It is even more unusual when at least 3 of those 5 comments are not from angry injured workers’ ranting about something that has nothing to do with the associated article. We have to acknowledge that the workers’ compensation professional community is just reticent when it comes to posting their thoughts anywhere online.
This is probably why some of us who are willing to do that have been so successful, even if it is obvious we do not know what the hell we are talking about. But I digress….
Now, back to those initial nominations. As I indicated, we’ve seen almost 100 submissions, but many of them are related to just a handful of blogs. There are many excellent blogs that I am aware of, and it is surprising at this point to see that most of them have not yet been nominated. So why are just a few blogs getting the majority of the fame and glory? Simple. Those bloggers have asked their readers to support them with a nomination.
Now, before we go off on these arrogant self-promoting bastards I want to point out that they likely had a reason to do so. They understand that this industry sometimes needs a friendly push, particularly when it comes to filling out a form online and clicking the “submit” button. It is just that they were able to do what some of us are just not comfortable with.
Take this blog for instance. I am not involved with the judging, and neither are any employees of my company. While I am restricted from nominating anyone due to my proximity to the program, my blog is nevertheless eligible to be nominated for consideration.
Nominate Bob’s Cluttered Desk Blog Today!
It is just that I could never be so bold as to encourage or solicit nominations from the general public. That is simply not my style.
I am, at the heart of the matter, simply too modest to presume that I deserve the notoriety.
Still, I have to admit that these bloggers had the right idea. They know that people need to be reminded to do things from time to time, and their readers are more than willing to oblige. That is why we made a nifty badge that you can post within your blogs to encourage your faithful to demonstrate their faith.
Perhaps you’ve seen it somewhere already. If not, here it is:
If you go to the nominations page, located here, you can copy and paste the necessary code to display it in your blog and drive readers directly to the nominating form.
Of course, you can also nominate your favorite blogs while you are there. If, that is, you can think of one worthy to nominate.
Nominate Bob’s Cluttered Desk Blog Today!
Remember, people in our industry are more than willing to support those people whose work they enjoy. It is just that sometimes they need a little push; a gentle reminder – a little nudge – to spur them to action.
My fellow bloggers, ask your readers for their support. Otherwise many will pass on the opportunity, assuming you’ve already been nominated. Don’t let the conservatively non-interactive comp community deprive you of your chance at fame and glory, while they deprive others of your excellent work. And lastly, don’t worry about not being worthy of the Best Blog designation, as that is the beauty of the system. If you suck, they won’t nominate you.
But you will never know if you don’t try.