Why Blog?

I guess it all depends on why you are blogging. I blog because it is fun. If it is not fun -- for instance if there is a week or two that I don't have much to say -- then I don't blog. If people come by to read, that's good. If they don't, heck with them. I don't run ads, and I'm not trying to start a mini-text news and commentary service, I'm just writing in my blog.

But your post gets into the "business" of blogging, a concept which has really just taken off over the last few years. In that world, yes, a team is the only shot you have at consistant quality content. I'd also consider a Lexis-Nexis subscription and a couple other things. You certainly want a better layour that some "Joe Blogger" like me has.

I think goals are important. Are you trying to get the most readers possible? If so, why? Money? Then you might want to join a group with a narrow focus. A good continuous marketing campaign is also a must. People "buy" the combination of the topic and the personalities, so I'd guess having a good team mix and content generation is critical.

Finally don't discount the value of old posts! My blog used to get a boatload of readers when I cross posted on some of the major boards (like /.) and then I didn't write much for a while. What I find, looking at my server logs, is that I'm still getting a fair bit of traffic from old material. These readers sometimes read more current material and/or try out a RSS feed. There's probably a good strategy in there somewhere. Blogging definitely has the same quality as building a snowman. Sometimes you feel like you're just rolling that little snowball around in the yard for no reason at all. And if you're trying to build a 40-foot snowman, it's an entirely different thing from a small one in the front yard.