Next week’s should be an interesting one, as it looks like we will have some guest judges. I’ve just sent the following message to the leadership of the warring factions in the Great Blogwar:
To: The Blogger Alliance; The Axis of Naughty
From: N.Z. Bear of The Truth Laid Bear
Re: Proposal to Sponsor the New Weblog Showcase
Greetings, honored combatants, from the neutral zone of the Blogwar!
As I believe you know, one of the projects which I maintain at The Truth Laid Bear is the New Weblog Showcase.
Each week, the Showcase is open for new bloggers (currently defined as those blogging for less than three months) to submit a sample post of their best work. Other bloggers then cast their votes simply by linking to the entered posts they deem most worthy — and each Monday morning, whichever weblog has received the most votes is declared the winner for the week. (More detailed information can be found here).
I would like to propose, therefore, an offer to each of your alliances. I would be willing to declare an alliance the “sponsor” of the Showcase — complete with a declaration as such and your logo prominently placed on the Showcase pages — in exchange for a pledge that your alliance members would actively participate in each week’s Showcase: reviewing the work of the new bloggers, and voting for those that they feel are most worthy.
I believe such an arrangement would have mutual benefits: the Showcase would gain greater visibility and new bloggers would have wider exposure in the Blogosphere. And the alliance sponsoring the contest would both gain a valuable opportunity to recruit new members from the Showcase contestants — and have a practical focus for the energies of its membership.
There is, however, one catch: it seems reasonable that only one alliance should have the sponsorship. Therefore:
– If one of your noble alliances is interested in this sponsorship, but not the other, then I will accept the sponsorship from the interested group effective immediately.
– If neither alliance finds this arrangement of interest, I shall leave you all to your own devices, and return sheepishly to my own.
– If BOTH alliances are interested in the arrangement, I propose to make the next week a challenge between the two alliances. Whichever alliance can succeed in delivering the highest participation (linking to entered Showcase posts and to the winner’s announcement Monday) from their membership — measured by percentage of your total membership — will win sponsorship of the Showcase.
I propose to make the initial sponsorship arrangement a temporary one — perhaps a month — after which we can re-evaluate the arrangement to ensure it remains mutually beneficial to all involved.
Please feel free to distribute this message to your respective memberships, or repost it on your weblogs. Regardless of your decisions, I wish you all the best, and await your replies.
-N.Z. Bear
The Truth Laid Bear
Kevin at Wizbang has already replied: “The Axis of Naughty is in.”
Will the Blogger Alliance take up the challenge? Stay tuned!