It's me--Arlee Bird. I'm the guy who runs this blog in case any of you forgot who I was. My blog has been taken over by guest hijackers over the past few weeks and will continue to be occupied by bloggers other than me until sometime into September.
I like to experiment and don't mind taking a risk now and then, but when I put together my Hijack This Blog! campaign there was a part of me that wondered how many takers I'd get on my offer. Would the concept fall flat and leave bloggers everywhere snickering at their computer screens ridiculing my flop?
My experiment was a somewhat eccentric thing to try I suppose, but I had to do something to free myself up to attend to other business that didn't have to do with blogging. To my great satisfaction the Hijack This Blog! campaign has been a big success for me. My spots have been filled beyond the point I had originally intended with additional queries being made for more beyond September.
There are some truly fine bloggers signed up to participate with promise of some interesting topics. This Friday we'll have some interesting film talk from Ed at Empire's 5-Star 500. He'll be asking you to weigh in with some of your film opinions. A must-read topic will be presented by guest Andrew Leon next Wednesday. His post might open a can of worms for some, but I think it's a topic that is well worth discussing.
With so many excellent posts in the weeks ahead I start to get a little uneasy. When I return to my blog with my own posts will anyone still want to read my posts? Will Tossing It Out be permanently taken over by guests? Will I be left out in the cold, alone and blogless?
Of course not! I still have my other three blogs that I can write on.
By the way, I'm still looking for guest bloggers at Wrote By Rote, A Faraway View, and the A to Z Blog. Come on and take them over. I challenge you! Hmm--that last sentence has a familiar ring to it.
Would you be willing to turn your blog over to guests for a couple of months? Do you think Hijack This Blog! is a risky venture? Have you enjoyed my guests so far? Are there any on the schedule that you are especially looking forward to hearing from?
I think you did a brave thing letting your blog get hijacked.But it has been a success though at the end of the day I prefer Arlee Bird writing.
ReplyDeleteHappy 4th of July.
Yvonne.
Well good luck with it, Arlee! I hope you enjoy your bloggy break and I think your hijack idea is a great one. The fact you have so many takers is a testament to you and the high esteem in which you are held by so many readers.
ReplyDeleteI've enjoyed the guest blogs :) But you don't have to worry Lee - your posts are always intriguing!
ReplyDeleteI agree, you've been brave in letting your blog be taken over. Not something I'd like to do without a huge amount of control!
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to taking over on Friday - thanks again for the opportunity. On 13th July, I've set aside a post for returning the compliment and sharing the love for your blog.
Keep up the good work hijackers!
Which reminds me, I have that 2nd post to do! I'll email you about that... um... tomorrow?
ReplyDeleteYvonne -- Be sure to keep reading my guests though. I've got some good reading coming up.
ReplyDeleteCathy - Thank you for your kind words.
Jemi -- Hope you'll keep dropping by.
Karen -- I'm the same way much of the time. Try to check in often though as I do have some good things scheduled from guests. I should be returning in September other than my first Wednesday posts for #IWSG which will be my news check points.
Ed (Wizzard) -- I think many readers will enjoy reading about film this Friday. I look forward to your July 13th post. Thank you.
Andrew -- I anxiously await your email as I also await your guest spot for next Wednesday.
Lee
Why do you like being taken over? Is it to free yourself for other projects? It seems strange to me as a blog is, surely, a personal thing. Or am I being naive?
ReplyDeleteLizy -- Uh, I'm into domination? Seriously though, as I explained when I announced the Hijack This Blog! campaign, I am trying to free up time to do more other writing (which hasn't been happening yet due to other issues) and because I had some extended traveling coming up which would make internet access sporadic and I didn't just want to leave this consistently active blog dormant. Besides, I've always enjoyed guest posters as it adds a different dimension to what I have to say.
ReplyDeleteActually blogs can be many different things. Some are personal and others are sometimes too personal. Then I've seen many blogs that have a rotating bank of writers or are primarily all posts by guests and not the blog owner. I think of Tossing It Out as my "eclectic blog" where I toss out all sorts of ideas to the reading audience and that includes the ideas of others as well as my own.
Would you like to do a guest post one day?
:) Lee
I have quite enjoyed the various guest posts that have been put on your blog because it introduces me to a whole bunch of other writers who seem interesting and may be worth following as well. I still like to read your posts often Lee and would be kind of disappointed if you didn't post for months. The hijacking thing really isn't for me either, I've never had a guest post done on my blog before and I doubt I will for quite some time to be honest with you man.
ReplyDeleteA guest now and then, but I wouldn't turn my blog over to others for that long. Besides, with only three posts per week, I have too much to say!
ReplyDeleteAndrew will have a double billing that day, as he's also appearing at the A to Z Blog next Wednesday.
BOIDMAN ~
ReplyDeleteFriday's guest post by Ed at Empire's 5-Star 500 seems like it should be interesting. I'm always willing to yak about movies, so I'll be sure to check in on that.
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
I've enjoyed your guests but I'll be equally glad to have you back in the blogger's seat when the time comes. I've missed your posts.
ReplyDeleteA couple of months? No way. Though I've been thinking about taking on some guest posters recently, I've not done it in a long while ...
ReplyDeleteHey Lee! I haven't ever thought about letting my blog be taken over by hijackers, although I have enjoyed reading some of your hijackers...looking forward to the movie guy, Empire's 5-Star 500, and to Andrew Leon...I love movies and cans of worms.
ReplyDeleteStill have no ideas for my stint as a hijacker, and frankly, I'm becoming Insecure about it!
I really enjoy your other blogs too..lots of interesting stuff there.
I don't think the hijack experiment would work for my family genealogy blog because it wouldn't make much sense. I would, however, consider guest bloggers now and then for specific types of topics. For the nature of your blog, the Hijack experiment is interesting for the short term. It's the America's Got Talent of blogging.
ReplyDeleteI've gotta be honest. I haven't read any of your guest blogger' posts. I took a month off from blogging myself, and now that I'm back, do the best I can just to keep up with visiting the blogs of people who visit my blog. (You visited mine ... ergo, here I am!) Not sure how I'd feel about turning over my blog to other writers for an extended period of time. But if it's working for you, more power to you! Oh, if you're serious about having a craving for good crab cakes, check out a company called Litton Seafood. It's a place in MD that ships quality seafood all over the country. Happy 4th!
ReplyDeleteYour offer is very bold, Arlee. I love the concept, but to answer your question, "No," I don't think I would be wiling to give over any of my blog at this point. I think it's too therapeutic for me to try to keep going...but ask me again in about a year. I might change my mind! Good for you for being such a risk taker. I think it's safe to assume it only strengthens the readership, and doesn't take away from your own voice! :) Debra
ReplyDeleteMy blog is my daily diary it is how I keep track of what I do, so guest spots are not an option.
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely looking forward to reading Ed's post this Friday, movie buff that I am. :D
ReplyDeleteYeamie --The personal nature of your blog is not all that conducive to having guest posters so you're right about staying in the driver's seat.
ReplyDeleteAlex -- I have a lot to say as well, but I'm willing to shut up now and then and let others speak for me.
StMc -- I think you are one of the ones who will particularly appreciate Ed's movie post.
LD- Awww! It's nice to feel missed.
Jamie -- I have guest posters with fair regularity and I enjoy it.
Eve -- Don't worry about your guest spot. I've got faith in you.
Wendy -- You're right about the specificity of your blog topic. It might be difficult to find enough bloggers to guest on the topic. "America's Got Talent" of blogging! I like that.
Susan -- Yeah, it had been a while since I'd been to visit you. It was about time I guess. I don't know about having crab cakes shipped to me. I was kind of hoping someone would cook them and serve them to me.
Debra -- Right now I feel like it would be more therapeutic for me to do some things outside of blogging. I've been too blogcentric of late.
Rob -- If it's your diary then no one else can write your story unless they turn it into fiction. And as we know--truth is stranger than fiction.
Michael -- Hope you'll weigh in on Ed's topic. We'll be looking for some discussion.
Lee
What a unique idea, letting people completely hijack the blog! I might have to tuck that in the back of my brain...might be fun to try!
ReplyDeleteAngela
You have (and have had) some great guests! But, without your voice Tossing It Loses a little something. :)
ReplyDeleteVery brave you are.
Teresa
Don't worry, Lee, people will pray for your own posts to come back, they love them :)
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that makes me a bit reserved when it comes to guest bloggers is the fact that most of them (not all) are impolite in the way that with writing a post they don't also come and respond to comments and visit commentators sites too. As someone who pays special attention to positive PR of my own blog, I'd worry about that a lot.
Sounds like a great summertime idea!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to have hijackers - maybe a couple of posts a month?
YIKES ~ hijacking - something I normally reserve for your comment box.
ReplyDeleteI am working hard at 'getting over myself'and trying to write that GP for you on shared dreams, so be warned. It keeps on happening and I'm thinking that maybe if I talk about it, it will go away. Hopefully, I'll email you shortly.
A blog vacay would be fun for a little while I think. I might just take one after my tour.
ReplyDeleteBut yes, I do understand that you question what will happen when you return, but hey, you were the big attraction and so I don't think there's anything to worry about.
I keep trying to squeeze out time for a guest post...and instead, I start a whole new blog. I now maintain regularly four, less frequently one more and very sporadically three others. Not to mention the websites. Oh, toss in the flash fiction and add in a dash of novel writing. Did I mention Camp NaNoWriMo next month? Egad...
ReplyDeleteI follow all your blogs and am just glad they keep providing me with great reading and information.
I had to back off a little bit from my blog as well so I could get other stuff done, Lee. I'm looking for more Thursday guests for August through December, so if you start feeling blog post deprived, let me know and you can pay me a visit.
ReplyDeleteAngela -- If it works out well here I'd say we'll see a bit more of this hijacking blogs though perhaps with another label.
ReplyDeleteTeresa -- I don't know how brave it is, but I like trying novel ideas.
Dezmond -- Your blog is another one of those that is probably not conducive to having a variety of guest bloggers sit in for you.
Deniz -- I've always had guest bloggers though not to this extent. Try a few guests and see how it goes.
Faraway -- I hope you'll do the GP spot on A Faraway View.
Joy -- I'm not overly concerned about what will happen. Que sera, sera.
Donna -- Thank you for finding time to fit in reading my blogs into your busy schedule.
Patricia -- I'm hoping I have a good reason to be a guest soon.
Lee
I think it's pretty cool that you're willing to share your blog this way. I like the idea of guest posts. It seems from the comments thus far that other people may have some interesting rants to share. But, being brand-spanking new to blogging, I have no real idea how to manage guest posts. Any chance of a blog post from you telling us newbies how it's done?
ReplyDeleteAngry -- Actually this is a topic I have in my line-up of things to blog about in the future. I basically just have winged it since I started doing guest spots. You can adapt it to your own style.
ReplyDeleteI did a guest post on Stephen Tremp's blog about this topic of Guest Posting. Click the link to read more about the topic.
Lee
Kind of you to invite me to be a guest, Lee, but I'm not confident enough to do that yet. I mean, you have 30+ comments on this blog alone while I'm lucky to get ten. Keeping my own blog varied is hard enough!
ReplyDelete