Ten Questions with Scott of Average Dudes

1. Describe your blog in five sentences or less.
Average Dudes is exactly what it sounds like: It’s a place for average dudes, by average dudes. We provide short, concise reviews of products from the perspective of an average consumer rather than a professional. We also cover humorous and interesting news stories and we produce original editorial content. We’re not vulgar or obscene. Think of it like hanging out at your favorite dive bar, only it’s much cleaner and you probably won’t wake up with a hangover the next morning.

2. Link us to one post from your blog that best defines who you are.
Top 10 Chicks of Prime Time - This is a top 10 list of our favorite ladies of prime time television…the ones that haven’t had plastic surgery. We may be average dudes, but we still like classy chicks.

3. What sets you apart from other bloggers?
I think that a lot of sites in our niche go a little too far with their content. We don’t show any nudity and we don’t drop F-bombs (if we can help it). We also don’t go out of our way to objectify women. That’s not to say that we don’t post about hot girls, but we try to do so tastefully. We like to be accessible to a wide audience so we strive to not alienate readers by offending them.

4. When and how did you first discover blogging?.
I attended PostieCon, a blogging conference in Las Vegas in November of 2007. David Ponce from OhGizmo.com was a speaker and I caught his talk about building value on a blog. He said that his inspiration came from reading Gizmodo, specifically Joel Johnson who now writes at Dethroner. He said that his thought was, “Joel doesn’t have anything that I don’t have,” so he started OhGizmo and it has become very successful. As I listened to his story, I thought the exact same thing: “David doesn’t have anything I don’t have.” About a week later, Average-Dudes was born.

5. What is your biggest pet peeve related to blogging or the internet?
One pet peeve I have is bad design. I hate going to a site that is littered with little chicklets, widgets and ads. It’s distracting and takes away from the user experience. That has always been something we’ve focused on at Average-Dudes. We have ads and some widgets, but they stay out of the way of the content.

6. Name one plugin, blogging widget, or service that you can’t live without.
I absolutely love StumbleUpon. This was something else I learned about at PostieCon. If you use it properly, it can be hugely beneficial to your traffic numbers. The key is building relationships with other stumblers and creating a positive reputation for yourself.

7. If you could choose anyone, living or dead, to write a guest post for your blog, who would it be and why?
Personally, I would love to have Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters write something for us. He’s a hero of mine and he’s absolutely hilarious. He’s a little above average though, being a huge rock star and all. As for who would fit our theme, Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead) or Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm) would be amazing guest bloggers. Sorry…that’s three.

8. How has blogging made you a better person?
Blogging has helped me realize that I’m actually a pretty decent writer. I’ve never written creatively before but I’ve found that I have a knack for taking a story or a subject and putting a funny spin on it. I also see that I have a lot of room to improve so this has helped me strive to become a better writer. I’ve also learned the value of networking with others. I’m a pretty competitive guy so I like to look at things as a competition. In blogging, you can’t do that because you need to build relationships in order to be successful.

9. What are your tips for becoming a better blogger?
There’s a combination of factors that make up a great blogger. The first, as I mentioned before, is design. It’s fine to want to make money with your site, but don’t overwhelm the reader with ads. You’ll lose your following which means you won’t make any money from those ads. Another thing I think a good blogger needs is conviction with moderation. If you have an opinion, stick to it but don’t let it alienate your readers. If someone comments with a differing opinion, thank them, don’t call them an idiot. A good blogger also has to realize that this entire field is about communities and friendships. You can’t sit there posting stuff all day long and just expect traffic to come to you. You have to get out there, get your brand in front of as many faces as possible and talk to people. Build relationships with everyone you possibly can and your reputation will bring people to your site.

10. Name one great blog that you read on a regular basis. What makes it unique?
I have a fairly long list of sites that I subscribe to in my RSS reader. I enjoy visiting The BenSpark and Predator Press. LOBO from Predator Press is absolutely hilarious and Drew from BenSpark takes some awesome pictures. He has been taking and posting a new photograph every day for over 1,000 days which is quite a feat if you ask me. Sorry again for exceeding the number in question…

Categories: Men, Ten Questions