to blog or not to blog?

that is the question.
i am pretty torn.

i never really looked at my reviews as anything more than me taking notes on a cigar to better understand my palate and what i like on a personal level until recently. a few events and things that people have said have changed my point of view a little.

so what do you guys think?
should I start a blog?

keep in mind that anything you say i will argue against. i have arguments for both sides.
i think ill smoke a cigar as i wait for feedback...

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Comments

stephen_hannibal

kuzi16:
that is the question.
i am pretty torn.

i never really looked at my reviews as anything more than me taking notes on a cigar to better understand my palate and what i like on a personal level until recently. a few events and things that people have said have changed my point of view a little.

so what do you guys think?
should I start a blog?

keep in mind that anything you say i will argue against. i have arguments for both sides.
i think ill smoke a cigar as i wait for feedback...

I think you shouldn't start a blog as it's time consuming and you don't have much to say. Wink [;)]

let me know when you go live.

Direwolf

I'd hit up your blog for sure. Have found your views and reviews most helpful.

smoke em if you got em

I say do it..I think there are many others out there that could benefit from your knowlegde. It would give you more exposure outside of this forum. Cant wait to hear your arguments from both sides..lol

RCY Cigars

smoke em if you got em:
I say do it..I think there are many others out there that could benefit from your knowlegde. It would give you more exposure outside of this forum. Cant wait to hear your arguments from both sides..lol

Make it happen Kuzi. I agree, you may find it more rewarding by opening up your reviews to the masses. You will get tons of feed back.

BigT06

You should do it if you will enjoy it.

as picky as you are, you may be asked to review stuff you don't care for. but you can always say no...

and it's time consuming

that's the only 2 real downsides I see...

we would all LOVE for you to have a blog site! But don't do it for us. Do it for you... and us. lol

dowjr1

I will read them for sure.

jlmarta

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't there the potential of a blog becoming fairly profitable? And aren't you one of the more knowledgeable individuals in the realm of cigars? And since we are, after all, a capitalist nation let me just say....

WHAT THE H3LL ARE YA WAITIN' FOR??

Krieg

Naa....I think you already talk to much

kuzi16

stephen_hannibal:
I think you shouldn't start a blog as it's time consuming and you don't have much to say.

let me know when you go live.

thats funny. i have too much time... and we know how much i like to post.

kuzi16

Direwolf:
I'd hit up your blog for sure. Have found your views and reviews most helpful.

smoke em if you got em:
I say do it..I think there are many others out there that could benefit from your knowlegde. It would give you more exposure outside of this forum. Cant wait to hear your arguments from both sides..lol

RCY Cigars:
smoke em if you got em:
I say do it..I think there are many others out there that could benefit from your knowlegde. It would give you more exposure outside of this forum. Cant wait to hear your arguments from both sides..lol

Make it happen Kuzi. I agree, you may find it more rewarding by opening up your reviews to the masses. You will get tons of feed back.

dowjr1:
I will read them for sure.

all of these can be argued against in the same way:

i never started this to make anyone but myself happy.

ive been pretty happy just posting here.

kuzi16

BigT06:
You should do it if you will enjoy it.

as picky as you are, you may be asked to review stuff you don't care for. but you can always say no...

and it's time consuming

that's the only 2 real downsides I see...

we would all LOVE for you to have a blog site! But don't do it for us. Do it for you... and us. lol

time consuming? whatever. i can handle that. a more valid argument is the argument that i would review things that i would not "under normal conditions" review...

i have put a little bit of thought into this...
i woupld only review things as a consumer. for me to do a review i would have to either buy it online, buy it from a B&M, or trade for it on a forum. in other words, i would have to come across it as an average consumer would, not as an industry insider would. any cigars given to me by a company or a sales rep would never be reviewed unless they knew nothing of my blog.

the "free" factor taints the review process in my opinion. lets face it, cost plays a big role in your opinion of a cigar. for example: Liga Privada No.9 at $30 a stick would not be worth it. same cigar at $3 a stick.... i would only buy that cigar ever. see what i mean?

kuzi16

jlmarta:
Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't there the potential of a blog becoming fairly profitable? And aren't you one of the more knowledgeable individuals in the realm of cigars? And since we are, after all, a capitalist nation let me just say....

WHAT THE H3LL ARE YA WAITIN' FOR??

profit would be nice. its never been what i was after though. for some reason this made me think of another question...
what will separate me from the thousands of other blogs out there?
thats what im waiting for.

i know all of you will read it. but who else will?

Direwolf

kuzi16:
Direwolf:
I'd hit up your blog for sure. Have found your views and reviews most helpful.

smoke em if you got em:
I say do it..I think there are many others out there that could benefit from your knowlegde. It would give you more exposure outside of this forum. Cant wait to hear your arguments from both sides..lol

RCY Cigars:
smoke em if you got em:
I say do it..I think there are many others out there that could benefit from your knowlegde. It would give you more exposure outside of this forum. Cant wait to hear your arguments from both sides..lol

Make it happen Kuzi. I agree, you may find it more rewarding by opening up your reviews to the masses. You will get tons of feed back.

dowjr1:
I will read them for sure.
all of these can be argued against in the same way:

i never started this to make anyone but myself happy.

ive been pretty happy just posting here.

The person that busts their ass on the ice didn't do it to make me happy....Yet I still laugh.

kuzi16

Direwolf:
The person that busts their ass on the ice didn't do it to make me happy....Yet I still laugh.

is that an argument for or against a blog?

i dont wanna bust my ass on ice...

Direwolf

Wouldn't reccomend it , it hurts... and then people laugh at me. Seriously if'n you write here or there I enjoy what you have to say.

Russ55

Anytime I've ever turned a hobby into work, I've always lost my enjoyment for the hobby. I'm not someone who enjoys "having" to do something. I don't know if you're that way or not, not everyone is, but that's the part I'd be most worried about if I were considering this.

As far as what's going to separate you from the others...that's a tough one. I don't know. Breadth of knowledge maybe, but to be honest I don't read any cigar blogs, even of the folks I like, so maybe I'm not the best person to be answering this question. I assume folks do it for themselves, and not because they have something special that only they can offer. They enjoy it, and/or get some benefit out of it, but that's just an assumption, and not something I'd insist upon.

Edit, after re-reading my second paragraph I realized it could be taken the wrong way. I didn't mean to insinuate that I don't like you, just that reading blogs isn't something I do. Good luck with your decision whichever way you choose.

kuzi16

Russ55:
Anytime I've ever turned a hobby into work, I've always lost my enjoyment for the hobby. I'm not someone who enjoys "having" to do something. I don't know if you're that way or not, not everyone is, but that's the part I'd be most worried about if I were considering this.

that is an interesting point. i dont feel like i "have to do the reviews" here. i post them on a very sporadic basis. if i just do the reviews the way that i am doing them now, post them here and mirror them there then i am doing them on my time when i feel like it. if its all on my terms, im not sure i would feel like i "have" to do the blog.

Russ55:
As far as what's going to separate you from the others...that's a tough one. I don't know. Breadth of knowledge maybe, but to be honest I don't read any cigar blogs, even of the folks I like, so maybe I'm not the best person to be answering this question. I assume folks do it for themselves, and not because they have something special that only they can offer. They enjoy it, and/or get some benefit out of it, but that's just an assumption, and not something I'd insist upon.

another good point. i dont read many review blogs. i do read cigar news blogs. do i need to separate myself from others? maybe. iduno. you may be right. if i am doing it for myself then who cares if i am different from others?

Russ55:
Edit, after re-reading my second paragraph I realized it could be taken the wrong way. I didn't mean to insinuate that I don't like you, just that reading blogs isn't something I do. Good luck with your decision whichever way you choose.

never would have thought that you didnt like me. even if you didnt like me, i shouldnt take it that hard. not everyone likes everyone. as long as we are cival, i can take it.

DSWarmack

Kuzi

You are one of the main reasons I became as involved as I did in the cigar forums here. Your wealth of information is, to this day, still astounding to me. Your statements are always well spoken and even when you tell someone they are an incompetent moron they walk away with a smile on their face because you do it eloquently. If you do it though, I would suggest doing it for yourself. Blogs are generally very opinionated in their nature. I've always enjoyed and felt enlightened when you have shared your opinions with me. Don't take the criticism from a blog to directly though, some people just want to argue.

boydmcgowan

Kuzi

I'm not too much of a tech kind of guy, so I have no idea what goes into having a blog. Because of that I won't tell you you should do it, but I'll say this, I hope you do. If you had a cigar website with reviews and articles, and whatever else is in that cigar almanac of a brain of yours, I'd visit that website quite a bit. Might make it easier to search your reviews too. Don't you also have a personal stash of older reviews that aren't on the forums? maybe that would be reason enough to make you want to type them up over time.

bigharpoon

I think you should do it because your reasons for considering doing it are all the right reasons:

Do it for yourself, this will keep your content objective and honest.

Do it as a means to share your knowledge and passion with others, not egotism or a stepping stone to get noticed by the industry big dogs (a HUGE pet peeve of mine ~ all these guys out there screaming NOTICE ME!!! NOTICE ME!!! HEY, EVERYONE...LOOK AT ME!!! Ugh).

Do it because you have the time to spare to do it and it might be fun.

Do it because you could grow it into something you are very proud of.

Do it because what have you really got to lose???

Do it because of all the possibilities that may open or develop that you'll never anticipate.

Ken Light

kuzi16:
Direwolf:
I'd hit up your blog for sure. Have found your views and reviews most helpful.

smoke em if you got em:
I say do it..I think there are many others out there that could benefit from your knowlegde. It would give you more exposure outside of this forum. Cant wait to hear your arguments from both sides..lol

RCY Cigars:
smoke em if you got em:
I say do it..I think there are many others out there that could benefit from your knowlegde. It would give you more exposure outside of this forum. Cant wait to hear your arguments from both sides..lol

Make it happen Kuzi. I agree, you may find it more rewarding by opening up your reviews to the masses. You will get tons of feed back.

dowjr1:
I will read them for sure.
all of these can be argued against in the same way:

i never started this to make anyone but myself happy.

ive been pretty happy just posting here.

Screw blogging. Just copy, paste, and edit 10k posts into a book.

Call it "Kuz i said so"

Then make sure you tell the bookstores where to shelve it. God help them if they put it in the wrong section!

beatnic

Kuzi
You have the material
I would only caution you on doing a blog that requires you to keep a schedule. Sure. Post your reviews on a blog, and Ccom forum, at your own speed.
, Don't get caught up in daily blogging. It will wear you out. If you could find some software to translate your html stuff, many people would read it.

BigT06

kuzi16:
BigT06:
You should do it if you will enjoy it.

as picky as you are, you may be asked to review stuff you don't care for. but you can always say no...

and it's time consuming

that's the only 2 real downsides I see...

we would all LOVE for you to have a blog site! But don't do it for us. Do it for you... and us. lol
time consuming? whatever. i can handle that. a more valid argument is the argument that i would review things that i would not "under normal conditions" review...

i have put a little bit of thought into this...
i woupld only review things as a consumer. for me to do a review i would have to either buy it online, buy it from a B&M, or trade for it on a forum. in other words, i would have to come across it as an average consumer would, not as an industry insider would. any cigars given to me by a company or a sales rep would never be reviewed unless they knew nothing of my blog.

the "free" factor taints the review process in my opinion. lets face it, cost plays a big role in your opinion of a cigar. for example: Liga Privada No.9 at $30 a stick would not be worth it. same cigar at $3 a stick.... i would only buy that cigar ever. see what i mean?

first off.. the fact that you've responded to EVERY post here shows me that you have the time, and are willing to roll with BOTL input. That's awesome.

as for my other point about smoking cigars you wouldn't normally enjoy smoking... it seems you've already though that through as well.

so there we have it. Get the thing rolling!

and good point about the price... the LP no.9 is a bad example for me though, because I've only smoked 1 $30 cigar... and I like the no. 9 better... but yeah, at $3 a stick, I would have a cabinet full of em. lmao

kuzi16

So... i have it set up.
i spent the last two days putting all of my reviews on there. there are even a few from the old forum that are no longer available.

there are a few of you who have had a sneek preview to test this thing. please dont post the link here yet. I will be going live with it in a few days. i have a few bugs to work out.

damn RSS feed.

if anyone is familiar with Wordpress and how they and browsers interact with RSS feeds and how to set them up, please, PM me.

Ken Light

kuzi16:
So... i have it set up.
i spent the last two days putting all of my reviews on there. there are even a few from the old forum that are no longer available.

there are a few of you who have had a sneek preview to test this thing. please dont post the link here yet. I will be going live with it in a few days. i have a few bugs to work out.

damn RSS feed.

if anyone is familiar with Wordpress and how they and browsers interact with RSS feeds and how to set them up, please, PM me.

Good luck with it! Can't wait to see if when it's available

kuzi16

ok... i think i got it all worked out. im sure as soon as i start advertising it someone will find something wrong with it.

there is a good chance i will go live tomorrow.
this also means a new review.
its been a while since i have scratched something off my *uck*it list (since 03-01-2010 to be exact)
I think i should tomorrow.

jasonusa1

kuzi16:
ok... i think i got it all worked out. im sure as soon as i start advertising it someone will find something wrong with it.

there is a good chance i will go live tomorrow.
this also means a new review.
its been a while since i have scratched something off my *uck*it list (since 03-01-2010 to be exact)
I think i should tomorrow.

GOOD. Really excited to see this!