A-Z Challenge Reflections ~ Part 1

'This is what the Team behind the A-C Challenge writes on the A-Z blog for the Reflection post.
My replies and comments will be in blue, like this text.

Our team theme this year was: A is for Aspirations: Blogging hopes, dreams, and goals

Do you feel like our team's posts from this month met your expectations for that theme?

First off a HUGE thanks to the Crew behind the A-Z Challenge. THANK YOU!

As far as I read the Crew's posts on the A-Z homepage, yes they fit the theme. But I feel a bit that it's work wasted, as I was too busy really reading them, and I felt that the most frequent use of these posts was self promotion from other participants.


While you reflect on your blog's April Challenge posts, please consider this:

How do you feel about the Theme Reveal? (Especially if this is not your first year doing the Challenge.)

I feel that having Theme-reveal AND Sign up is overkill. There's no extra value in the Theme reveal, as we're asked to add our themes in the sign-up spreadsheet as well.
As Lissa says in the comment, the Theme reveal list alone would do nicely, maybe prolonging the closing date until March 31 would be wise. I don't think the possibility of signing up should overlap with the Challenge proper.

In what ways does the reflection post help you?

I don't know. I always write them, hoping that it'll help improve next year's A-Z Challenge, but so far no luck.

What experiences have you had in the past, or hope to have this year, with the Road Trip?

I always promise to do it, but then life happens. Maybe this year.

    Does the HTML on the badges/ graphics page help you?
No.

    Did you meet your blogging goals in April?
Yes, I wrote all 26 posts.

    What were your top five favourite blogs from the challenge to visit in April this year?
I want to mention Whatever I Think of and the bookish scavenger hunt there. It was fun. Not that I did not find a few other good ones, but this year I found only a few I really looked forward to reading. Also I ran out of time. I would have loved to solve Jamie's crosswords @ Uniquely Maladjusted but Fun, I'd have loved to follow LindaMay Curry's journey with Cancer @ The lost Summer, (Curry Apple Orchard), or seen all of America's beauty with AM @ Ramblin' with AM, and so much more. But my eyes, never good, were especially uncooperative during May.

Did a co-host (J Lenni Dorner, Arlee Bird, Zalka Csenge Virág, John Holton, Jayden R Vincente, or Ronel Janse van Vuuren) comment on your blog during the challenge?

Yes, and thank you.

Is there a comment you received on your blog in April that is your favorite?

Yes there is - but I'll keep it to myself.

Who were your top comment-leavers this challenge, and did they do the challenge?

I don't know, as I don't keep track of comments. I suspect Mimi @ Messymimi's Meanderings or River @ Drifting through Life, but then we comment on one another's blogs throughout the year. Actually I just looked to my stats - and found a strange fact - I've had fewer visitors and comments during A-Z than I normally have. I wonder why. 

Is your blog open to comments from everyone, or only comments from those who "sign in" to the platform?

Yes, my blog is open to everyone, always. older posts are moderated, to avoid spamming, but never limited by log in or captchas or any such. 

    Do you feel this helps or hurts your blogging comment goals?

Erm, sorry. I do not understand. Other blogs having log in or Captchas surely prevents me from commenting, if this is what you mean.

Are there any other blog hops you regularly take part in?

Poetry Monday, Words for Wednesday, Sunday Selections and Colour of the Month (Colour26). All these have suffered because of the A-Z Challenge.

Did you discover anything interesting because of the Challenge?

Of course. Reading so many different blogs would make me discover something :)

Will you plan to do the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge in 2027, and why (or why not)?

No, I won't. Because ... please read my A-Z Challenge Reflections ~ Part 2 for an explanation. 

Will you recommend this blog hop to others?

Neither recommend nor the opposite.

If RoadTrippers only visit one of your Challenge posts, which would you suggest and why? (This question is also the prompt if you create a RoadTrip post.)
Do you plan to visit the A to Z site every month?
    The site gets many hits, even in the off-season!
What else could the team offer you to persuade you to encourage others to join the challenge?

I do not plan to visit, I do visit now and then, mostly to see if you're doing something like the Zip through Autumn Challenge from 2022.

To make me do the challenge again in 2027, and encourage others to do the challenge as well ... Good question. It's not the challenge as such that makes me say no to doing this again, but something has shifted, from fun and sharing to a hard seriousness and monetizing of a lot of things ...

I do not mean to disdain anybody's hard work, and I really admire the Crew for their dedication and all what they do, but still, I don't know ... It was way more fun some years ago, and I have no idea how to remedy this ...