I received the most curious three email messages in quick succession, from three different "people". I use the term advisedly because the messages were all the same. Each on started "An idea for a blog post", and continued on with language like this:
I came across your blog post http://vielmetti.typepad.com/vacuum/2007/05/ann_arbor_spark.html while conducting research for a resource about the state of web-based graduate programs. I've found through my research that one of the biggest topics students are interested in is how to best prepare for graduate school. For example, how important are entrance exam scores compared to professor recommendations?
Not that I don't like attention, but this is a post that I wrote 5 years ago that has nothing to do with graduate school! So the request to publish a "guest post" on my blog smells like spam, especially since it came in a batch with two other identically structured mails sent in the wee hours of the morning.
There are lots of opportunities to get your writing published on other people's weblogs, and you should be receptive to the "guest post" every once in a while on your own blog just to liven things up. You'll play the role of editor, and it'll be up to you to make your guest's writing just a little bit better. But beware of the fake guest, a curious problem to have.
Comments