What is the name of your Blog?US Recall News
What is your name?
Everett Sizemore
Where are you from? (include country, state and/or city)
Cincinnati, Ohio - United States
What is your current age or age range?
30
Please describe your blog
US Recall News is an amalgamation of feeds from the various government agencies with authority to recall products, from food and drugs to toys and auto parts. But the system on the main portion of the site is meant to inform on a purely factual basis. The blog is our editorial outlet, where we can vent frustrations over things like lack of corporate responsibility and safety oversight for consumers.
Describe the main purpose of your blogging, what are you trying to accomplish?
If we keep one person from being hurt buy a defective or recalled product because they happened to learn about it on our blog we have accomplished our goal. If we encourage one person to write their Congressperson and DEMAND that all products coming in from other countries be tested to ensure they meet our standards then we have accomplished our dreams. Almost every week we have to put out an alert about a new lead-paint-covered toy that was produced in some cheap factory in China and shipped here to be sold in US stores.
What blogging platform do you do and why?
We use Blogger because it is what we started with, but are considering a move over to Wordpress because it has so many more features.
What do you blog the most about?
FDA and Consumer Product Safety Commission recalls. We would like to blog about more auto recalls, but the NHTSA doesn't have a feed so we have to check those manually.
What kind of blogs make you angry?
The ones that are set up just to send links into some spam site.
Give five of your best blogging tips.
Blog about something you have a passion for. Otherwise it is a chore. Blogging should be fun. You probably won't get rich, but if you are making a decent living from writing about something you care about then what more could you ask for?
What are some things you would NEVER blog about?
Hmmm... I would blog about almost anything if I were in the mood. Many times I have had to delete a passionately-written post after I came back and read it with less emotion. But I wouldn't blog about celebrities. Who cares?
Did you start blogging for the purpose of making money and if so, are you making enough money?
Yes and No. Yes and No.
How long have you been blogging?
About three years.
About how many hours per day do you spend blogging?
About two, but not all on this website.
Do you track RSS feeds and if so, how many do you usually track daily?
I subscribe to about 50 feeds using Bloglines.
Do you use Digg, and why or why not?
Sometimes I use Digg, but they seem to be more interested in technology than consumer product safety. Besides, hitting the front page tends to destroy your ad CTR, thus reducing the amount you get paid on clicks. It has its positives and negatives.
Do you use Stumbleupon, and why or why not?
Sometimes I use Stumbleupon. It is a great source of traffic and a fun way to find new sites. Now that you mention it... I should probably use it more often.
What promotional techniques work best for you and why?
Just blogging and letting the search engines find my content. But we just started a newsletter and a dozen people signed up in the first day (today) so that might be good.
If you could post a blog on any blog in the world, which one would it be and why?
I wish George Bush had a blog and I could hack into it and ask him why he is destroying this GREAT country. And then I would ask why it is that the voice of dissent, which is the most patriotic of all, has its patriotism called into question any time it speaks up. Have we forgotten what this country was meant to stand for in the first place?
What mistakes have you made that you could warn others about?
Unless you have a political blog, try not to post things like I just posted to the question above. Believe it or not, some people still like that snake of a president and it alienates those readers. As for myself - sometimes I just can't help it.
Have you met anyone offline as a result of your blog?
No. I think that is dangerous.
What is the most difficult thing about blogging on your topic?
Knowing that when a major recall happens my blog gets a boost in traffic and revenue, but it might also involve people getting hurt. It is a tough paradox to deal with. But I rest in the knowledge that my blog has the power to save lives... if only more people would read it! lol
What is the url of your blog?
US Recall News
No trackbacks.
Comments
