When this blog hit six months, I invited those who wanted to participate in a six-month survey to help review and give feedback on this blog.
There were eight questions in the survey, and I wanted to release a quick overview of the feedback I received. There were 28 respondents, from all across Australia and overseas who provided some great comments that will help shape future posts and streamline delivery.
It was great to hear how this blog’s mix of academic research, various bike initiatives and personal input was received.
A big thank you to those who responded as I really appreciate your time, ideas and comments.
Main feedback
Overall feedback was positive and respondents found the content interesting and liked the variety, which was very good to hear. Some people commented on having more images, colour and pictures included with posts – which is a suggestion I have taken under advisement. Since this survey opened on April 6th and closed two weeks later on 20th April, I have made a conscious change to include more images – a difference that has made the posts more visually engaging. In investigating images, I have also been inspired to create some of my own images and graphics, which means I have learnt new skills in how to use quick and interesting image and content via software programs such as Canva, Pikochart and Quote Cover – which I have thoroughly enjoyed and hope to use more of.
Although I agree that it would be great to expand into audio and have more interactive features and extra bells and whistles on this blog, I have been mindful to keep true to a more simple format for this blog so that it is a pleasure to maintain and not onerous, especially given my PhD research commiments.
Another point raised by a few comments was checking more closely for grammar accuracy in the early posts. This is something I am aware of. There were a few key reasons why I began this blog; to get more confident and practice continuously producing a variety of texts and to sharpen up on writing skills, finding my voice and being more concise and precise with my expression. So this feedback is something that I am very conscious of and have been working on. Since my first few posts, I have been not only checking more closely before posting but am also running posts through Grammarly as an extra measure and have been using a less verbose and formal style to reduce complex expression. This is something that I will continue to work on and develop.
Some participants provided more specific suggestions, which are very helpful when looking for particular aspects to work on, other gave general feedback and ideas – all of which were very gratefully received and taken on board. Although I cannot respond to each and every idea, it is very helpful to get some insights as to how the blog is looking and feeling from the consumer point of view.
I will be very interested to hear your ideas as to come of the changes you see happing since April 20th onwards. Below are some of the results that were received –thanks again for your input!
Samples from questions in the six month survey
What do you like most about this blog? (Sample answers)
- Community orientated
- Interesting content
- If your into cycling and social change its great. If not it would interest me enough to read it.
- Usual, entertaining, enthusiasm of writer
- This blog has an array of interests that is able to connect with both like-minded people and the broader community of people that care about community, making changes and education.
- Diversity of really interesting and worthwhile “good news” out there.
What suggestions do you have for improving this blog? (Sample answers)
- Include more pictures of images
- Some video
- Some cool graphics to go with the daily posts
- More people feature and more graphics
- Spelling and grammar check
- Get it to the public so it can be more interactive – market from it.
Is there anything else you want to tell me or think I should know? (Sample answers)
- Best wishes for your research.
- I’m interested in bicycles in China as China is the largest population who have been using bicycles for a long time, but most Chinese now are using cars and motorbikes – what is happening there?
- Keep up the good work.
- Great job of different and interesting posts.
- Easier to create content and keep inspiration going once you involve other others.
- Well done for generating a blog on an issue that is close to your heart.
Thank you to all who participated!
Please also feel free to use the comment function on individual posts – you certainly don’t have to wait for a survey to share your ideas. I’d love to hear from you anytime either through comments or via email.