Regarding the motivation to contribute regularly – what’s the money like? ;)

One of my worries about bringing in a wider group of people is whether they have enough of a sense of ownership of the site to contribute regularly. Why shouldn’t they just start their own blog? But if there’s enough of a difference between CiB and a personal blog where both can thrive then it could work.

Regarding the assistant / apprentice thing I should add that one reason for looking at this is because it’s an easy(ier) thing to get funded. Apparently. And I quite like the idea of Pete & Stef’s Excellent Blogging School. ;)

I think Pete’s somehow managed to act as a one-man-group in the initial phase of the site – covering a large area with impartiality, perhaps due to the partial learning curve that came with the job.

Perhaps a group with expertise in different areas of creativity could work – but allowing for more than one member in each area to stop funneling and projection of personal ideals of information, but still allowing for comment and debate. The difficulty in overseeing this project is the innate subjective approach we take to all things creative – words, images, people, so a mix of minds could be a solution. It could also be detrimental to the ethos pf the site without careful consideration given to selection of contributors.

That said, I think there are enough clued-up open talents who blog about creative issues and events in Birmingham to make it work and have the passion to succeed. There are plenty of bods who run blogs now, as either a part of their professional entities or as a personal account of their opinions, who could make this work.

I have to admit that I would find CiB a bit weird without the voice of Pete sluicing across the words, perhaps because he’s become the sole voice in pulling together creativity in the area. And he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty, rather than just talking about the whats, wheres and hows. But I do believe that CiB is still in its infancy, and that it’s a resource to be cherished for all it stands for.

Your alternative, taking on an apprentice, might suit a lot of people, but I’m thinking ‘experienced’ bloggers would want their own voice/style. Which might be best addressed by, say, a group?