Some bloggers set little quizzes now and again and seem to be able to generate some interest and interaction. My attempt, I have to tell you has sunk like a brick.
A couple of days ago I set a simple little list of questions about International Airports named after famous composers. The response has been very disappointing. Only one fellow blogger bothered to submit answers so I am happy to declare the winner to be:
inavukic – who got all the answers right:
Donetsk, Ukraine named after Prokoviev, Liverpool after John Lennon, New Orleans after Louis Armstrong, Poznan in Poland after Wieniawski, Salzburg Austria after Mozart, Warsaw Poland after Chopin, Parma Italy after Verdi, Ostrava, Czech Republic after Janacek, Munich Germany after Strauss.
As to Elvis and Prestwick airport I think it’s rumoured that the place is the only piece of UK soil where the man set foot on but hey, some say he spent a day elsewhere.
If you haven’t read Ina’s blog drop in and pay a visit some time.
Anyway, back to quizzing. I am trying to deal with my disappointment by trying to understand the reasons why it failed to break through the stubborn interaction barrier. This are the possibilities that I have come up with:
1 It was too easy
2 It was too hard
3 My readers are not interested in quizzes
4 Some people don’t read the post but just press the like button in the reader
5 No prizes
So, I tried it and it didn’t work and it is back to the drawing board for me:
Have Bag, Will Travel 
Hahaha, every so often I just press the ‘like’ button and don’t read the post, but I usually do. Normally, I like reading over your quizzes but am rushing off to do something else and forget to come back to it :(. I have learned a lot from them though!
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Thanks for the comment!
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Ok, the thing is I only know only a couple of the answers, so I could have googled and got them all but I thought that would be cheating…sorry, I feel bad now for not entering 😦
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No, don’t feel bad, I appreciate your visit and your comment. I am simply fascinated by WordPress and the blogging community and understanding what works and what doesn’t when it comes to driving real engagement. Comments rather than likes. What are your thoughts?
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I don’t know really. If I read post I will like it (unless it is awful!) but if a compliment or comment pops into my head then I will comment. But I know how great it makes me feel when people DO bother to comment and not just ‘like’ so I always have that in my mind. If it is too long an article then I will think I’ll come back to it, but often forget.
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Good points. The issue for me about ‘likes’ is that some people press like without even reading the post. How do they know if they like it or not just from the post title and a few words of introduction? If they haven’t read it then I would rather that they didn’t press like.
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Yes, that a good point. My posts are about my sketches so I assume people have seen what I have put up even if they don’t open the blog and read.
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I’m with Wendy in the ‘didn’t want to cheat’ excuse, as that was my only hope, lol. As for what get’s interaction, gawd knows mate. Some of my daftest posts about nothing much have 30+ comments; most have <5. I know I tried inserting 'polls' a few times, zip… useless, lol. The biggest issue I think is 'time', and most peoples perception that they don't have the time to delve into what they perceive to be complex posts (the 'quick fix' is the most sought after posts I think). Take my 'Guess What' posts. They create lots of interaction (relatively speaking), BUT only for a regular few followers and a couple of others – these few love them, whereas most bypass these posts, or are happy to watch from the sidelines. It's a balance of quality vs quantity – you aim for, and clearly achieve, the former.
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Thanks Spike. As you know I am just driven my the desire to understand the whole blogging community, why people are here and how it works and I am struggling to find answers.
I don’t like that new statistics page!
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The blogging community is just that… so you need to understand humanity/community. Sounds like the realm of the social scientist or psychologist – good luck – I haven’t a clue 🙂
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I confess I didn’t know the answers. 😦
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You can’t beat an honest response!
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It wasn’t easy. 😦 I didn’t want you to feel we were ignoring your efforts.
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Dang, I missed the quiz. Trivia is always cool.
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I think so too. Now I need a new initiative!
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I am hopeless at trivia questions and couldn’t seem to muster the motivation to do google searches. I must say I admire Inavukic for coming up with the answers though. As for reading posts… I do read your posts, though sometimes they are skimmed more than actually read, depending on the location. Quite simply put, some places interest me more than others.
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I do the same, but my essential point is that I always open them up before I make a judgement. Thanks for the comment, I always appreciate your feedback.
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Too hard is my excuse (plus maybe nobody bothered once Ina had a go). Why don’t you turn the like button off? That might force people to comment instead?
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What I seek is understanding how WP works and what makes bloggers interact. Thanks for your comment!
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5 😃 no really, 2. I am impressed by @inavukic
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I completely missed the post containing the quiz (and still can’t find it, although I do see the one attached to the Elgin Marbles post). I wouldn’t have known many of the answers without looking them up but unlike some of your respondents, probably would have responded (and cheated).
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Research is not cheating! Thanks for the feedback!
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I like quizzes – just felt this one was way over my head – not being a world traveller – though the connections were fascinating. Who knew?
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Too hard then. Thanks for the feedback. I think lots of people knew after they had Googled!
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Sometimes I want to leave a comment on a blog, but folks have already said what I was thinking. I would then click on “Like”, assuming I liked what the blogger had posted! I agree that we look for that little pat of reinforcement when we throw our thoughts to the winds.
I do chuckle when I get my first “Like” on a post one split-second after I published it.
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Such a give-away isn’t it!
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I agree with the fellow Aussie. How often I put up a post, realize I didn’t put in a featured image and hit edit, but someone has beaten me to that. Microseconds. Talk about speed reading!!
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It annoys me. If you don’t want to read it or look at the pictures then just move on!
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Andrew to be honest and making myself vulnerable, your quizzes are too hard. Some of my success in quizzes have been providing multiple choice answers or matching answers. That way it gives people, like myself, hope. 🙂
No one wants to look like an idiot, at least I don’t, so I am a bit hesitant.
My food quizzes have been the most successful. Perhaps everyone eats and so it is something everyone can share.?
I have also had good success with offering to feature the winner’s blog on my social media streams.
As far as engagement, I think it is about building relationships. If someone comments on my blog I always go and find a post on their blog and comment unless I am completely unavailable.
Does that help?
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Hi Sue. Yes I know how you manage your posts and I am always impressed.
Part of this experiment was to find out how many people knew that there was a quiz there at all. I was trying to flush out the likers who don’t read. That is why for the second one I advertised it in the title. All part of my desire to understand the blogging community. I am writing a longer piece about it.
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I will be interested in the post Andrew. What makes you think they don’t read but just like?
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Sometimes likes appear too quickly to be linked to a read. Running down the Reader it is very easy to hit like and move on. I keep my follows to around about 30 and that way I have time to open each posting. It is easy for me to say this of course because I don’t have to go to work. I know that you read because of your comments!
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That makes sense Andrew. I am likely following too many and 30 sounds like a good number. I am honored to be one of those. Truly.
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Reblogged this on S.O.U.L. S-P-A-C-E.
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Nice to be mentioned here – I must confess I like quizzes and I love watching shows such as Stephen Fry’s QI etc – amazing what one picks up along the way…in my “younger day” did globe trot quite a bit and lately I do it from my chair mostly…I always read posts heck I even watch video posts…and so a creature of comfort and habit evolves..
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I like quizzes. My favourite TV show in the UK is ‘University Challenge’. There are some tough questions on there and I am hopeless at maths or science.
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I’ll take them any date as opposed to the silly “reality” shows that keep popping up with the stupidest of ideas and plots…except of course the ones to do with home renovations etc that often pose challenging and most interesting stuff… British are very good at these as well as British crime – I lap them up like a groupie 🙂 Record them and watch at my leisre 🙂
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