Be a Voice for Concord – Guest Posting
Categories: Bay Area News
Written By: Mayor Concord California
I was exchanging emails last night with a Concord resident and they brought up a great idea. Allowing people to write posts for the blog on topics they feel are important. I had brought up guest postings in the past and wanted to open the floor again to my new readers.
There are so many people in Concord that have something to say and I think that giving anyone a chance to write their views, opinions and share information with others is an important thing to offer. I have gotten emails in the past with news and links to stories that people wanted shared through the site and I have posted them in the past but never in a very formal way. Now I want to make a formal announcement that anyone in the area that wants to give a guest post for the Mayor of Concord blog can now do so.
Be a Voice for Concord
Is there something you want to say? Maybe there is an issue you want to have an open discussion about online to see what other people are thinking. Are you a student that wants to give your opinion of the current situation? Anything (almost) is fair game.
Do you want to call attention to something happening in the city? Use this as a platform to highlight someone or something in the area.
Is there something you want published? Maybe you have something to write about and don’t want to go through all the work of setting up a blog of your own. You just have something to write and you want it online for other people to read.
This is how I got started in blogging. I wrote a guest post several years ago about a topic I was passionate about and was amazed at the response. It turns out that things you feel are important are important to other people also, even though they may not write about them.
I will open this up to anyone in the area. Let’s say Concord, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek, Antioch, Pittsburg and surrounding cities. I try to stay focused on Concord but the surrounding areas have news worth talking about also.
Guest Posting is Easy!
To start this off, I will accept any guest posts by email. Just email me at mayorofconcord[at]gmail.com and I’ll do the rest. If you want a picture included, add it in the email as an attachment or inline with your post. If there is a link to something else that you want to show, I’d be happy to include that as well.
I have the ability to create ‘contributor’ accounts on this site that will give someone their own access to write guest posts directly to the blog. If you are interested in this, let me know and I can set up that account for you. These can be anonymous or named contributor accounts. If you feel like you have a lot to say then this is a great option.
Anonymous vs. Named Guest Posts
One of the reasons a couple of the earlier guest posts never got put up was that they were concerned about remaining anonymous with their thoughts. When I was about to post them the contributors emailed me asking to refrain from posting them. I understand. This site was brand new and that was a chance few people were willing to take. I want anyone that provides a guest post for the site to be comfortable with their identity.
If you want to remain anonymous and go by a pseudonym make it clear or just leave the name you want to be known by as the signature in the guest post.
If you want to be named or even have a link to your own website or blog then add that as the signature. This is a great opportunity for people to get attention to their work, websites and causes they feel strongly about.
I will NEVER release the names, emails or other personal information of the people that have anonymous guest posts. I control my blog. Unlike some free blog platforms that are subject to data mining, my site is run by me and no one has access to the data besides my hosting company which is very adamant on the rights of blog owners. This was made very clear to me in the beginning when someone tried shutting down my site in the early days.
Guest Posts Welcome
So if you have something you want up on this site from a 2 paragraph concern or a 200 word call to attention, they are all welcome. This way you can have a single point of reference for all the feedback to your post.
Send your guest post to mayorofconcord[at]gmail.com. If you have any questions feel free to contact me.
Depending on the number of guest posts, I may run a contest for the most popular and have a prize for the winner. As you can see, I have added a rating system to the top of the blog posts. Now if you read a post you like, you can give it a rating.
Popularity: 33% [?]
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February 12th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
This sounds like a great idea. Instead of just leaving comments we can actually write about what we want. Now I just need to think about what to write.
February 13th, 2009 at 8:55 am
Disagree. This is your house. Your stories. You see all the crap tha Claycord myor goes through for his posts, that he stands by and for, you’d have to do the same .
faded this morn, b ut just think its a bad iidea for you, sir
February 13th, 2009 at 10:17 am
I do like the knowing that if I have something to say I can have it posted here. As for the other site, I don’t know what the other comment means by ‘all the stuff he has to go through for his posts’ since it’s really just taking someone elses email and putting it online for them.
February 24th, 2009 at 11:54 am
Brenda, the person “from the other site” puts up a story, puts in his view, and people will occasionally slam him for his view. He stands by it, it’s his view, his house. Koka, can I call you that?, to be slammedd or praised, but he stands by it. A guest post would imply that Koka agrees 100% of the guest posting, of which I find very hard to believe that anyone agrees 100% with anyone these days.
Moreover, guest posting, I believe if someone has something to say, they can create their own blog. Go to Blogger, or the engine that creates this one. It’s free. People have been doing it in exponential numbers these days
February 24th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Apollo, of course you can call me Koka.
A guest post does not need to have 100% agreement by me. In many cases, I will know little about the topic the guest poster feels like writing about. The idea of a guest post is to let anyone with something constructive to say to say it. I’m not going to put up guest posts about killing animals or anything. But if someone has something to say about the area and is a genuine concern or a valid praise then I will put it up. The post will be clearly identified as a guest post and not be made in my voice.
As for setting up your own blog, I think the more blogs that come up in the area the better. I am willing to help ANYONE that is interested in doing this. But some people do not want to go through all of the effort to set up a local blog just to say one or two things they feel strongly about. That’s why allowing for guest posts makes sense.
Concord Blogger’s last blog post..Can Marijuana Pull California Out of Debt
March 8th, 2009 at 11:07 pm
Impressive article. Good job.
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