Blogging
repost
A long time ago on this blog I wrote a list detailing what makes a blog good or bad. Lately I have found many abandoned blogs: Those with 1 to 10 posts that have not been updated in a year or more. These blogs are just sitting, wasting space and domain names. People are hearing about blogs and they seem to be excited about them. They are, after all, intriguing. More and more, however, people are becoming bored with blogs. Why? Because there's a lot to be bored about.
The key to starting a blog is having a strong desire to start a blog and commit to maintaining it and writing in it.
So, I decided to revisit my blog list. Here goes:
How to (and not to) blog:
Most people don't really care to read an online diary.
We have our own lives. If you want to write a diary then write a diary. If you want to write a diary, a blog is not for you. Some online diaries are pretty good. Most aren't. To be fair, there is a place for simple personal blogs, I suppose--They are great for friends and family, but don't expect many people to have an interest in reading them.
Politics are interesting, but a little (and by a little, I mean a lot!) overdone.
What can you say in a political blog that cannot be found on another blog? They get boring. Very, very boring. Very, very, very boring.
Don't try to be all things to all people with your blog.
This is a Christian blog, and that's fine. The most successful blogs out there have a niche. Many blogs that I have seen try to be sweeping, in that they discuss so much of a range of things that they lose focus (and, as a result, interest). Sure, I have the off-topic post here and there, but this blog is unapologetically Christian.
Don't be such a narcissist. People aren't as interested in you (or your cat) as you may think.
Harsh, but true. People like to read perspectives and commentary. They don't want to read about how cute your cat is or what you and your friends did this weekend (well, that is, unless its something very interesting that can be related in some key way).
Keep it simple (the template, that is).
I like my template-it's simple. I see some blogs with so many pictures and general crap that I cannot figure out what I am supposed to be reading. You may find it cool that you CAN change the mouse pointer using Javascript, but I immediately exit any blogs with a modified mouse pointer. Call me strange, but this annoys me. If I see one more teenager's blog with Japanese anime I will vomit, I promise.
Make sure your blog looks good in Mozilla browsers.
Most people on the web are using Internet Explorer, however, I have found that probably 25% of my readers use Mozilla. Interesting. This is more difficult than you may realize.
Enable comments on your blog.
What fun is a blog if the discussion doesn't work two ways? Sometimes the most interesting aspect of a blog is the commentary.
Polish your writing skills.
Nothing irks me more (okay, maybe some things) than poor grammar. When I read poor grammar I think "This person has nothing valuable to say. Heck, he can't even write!" (This is not to say that my grammar is always perfect, but I try to at least keep my posts well-written.) I'm not saying that the person who cannot write doesn't have anything good to say. He may, but it gets lost in the poor grammar. I'm also not suggesting that my own grammar is perfect (far from it).
If you don't intend to blog regularly, don't create a blog!
I can't stand it when I find a blog that hasn't been updated in months. Why are these blogs clouding the blogosphere? I come across MANY, MANY blogs that have one post: "This is my blog. I will be posting my thoughts here." That's it! One post with absolutely nothing to contribute to the World Wide Web! If you abandon your blog perhaps you should consider deleting it. What is regularly? At least once a week.
Don't be afraid of what others might say.
The best blogs are usually those that are written from the heart-without concern for what others might say about it. Real Live Preacher comes to mind.I have posted things here where I wondered, "Is this too personal to post?" Then I hit the publish button, and I'm glad I did. The best writing is the kind that knows few boundaries and has few fears. The thing about good writing is it's not good unless your sharing something that is interesting. My favorite authors are eccentrics--the ones who, when I read their words, I think, "Man, I can't believe he shared that!" Think of your favorite books, songs, poems and blogs. They are, inevitably, the ones in which the author has put his guard down, no?
If you create a good blog people will read it.
If you create a bad blog, nobody will care. You will get a few random hits, but not many. All blogs that I link to here are ones that I consider "good." I don't bother linking to or reading the bad ones. Why bother?
Blogs can be pretty cool, but they can also be a pretty lame waste of time and space. I blog because I like to write, mostly, but also because I want to comment and share with others. I have thick journals at home, and they certainly are an outlet for writing, but they don't contain the gratifying element of conversation.
There you have it:
My two cents on blogging. I don't claim to have it all figured out, but I do have a fairly successful amount of traffic here.
A long time ago on this blog I wrote a list detailing what makes a blog good or bad. Lately I have found many abandoned blogs: Those with 1 to 10 posts that have not been updated in a year or more. These blogs are just sitting, wasting space and domain names. People are hearing about blogs and they seem to be excited about them. They are, after all, intriguing. More and more, however, people are becoming bored with blogs. Why? Because there's a lot to be bored about.
The key to starting a blog is having a strong desire to start a blog and commit to maintaining it and writing in it.
So, I decided to revisit my blog list. Here goes:
How to (and not to) blog:
Most people don't really care to read an online diary.
We have our own lives. If you want to write a diary then write a diary. If you want to write a diary, a blog is not for you. Some online diaries are pretty good. Most aren't. To be fair, there is a place for simple personal blogs, I suppose--They are great for friends and family, but don't expect many people to have an interest in reading them.
Politics are interesting, but a little (and by a little, I mean a lot!) overdone.
What can you say in a political blog that cannot be found on another blog? They get boring. Very, very boring. Very, very, very boring.
Don't try to be all things to all people with your blog.
This is a Christian blog, and that's fine. The most successful blogs out there have a niche. Many blogs that I have seen try to be sweeping, in that they discuss so much of a range of things that they lose focus (and, as a result, interest). Sure, I have the off-topic post here and there, but this blog is unapologetically Christian.
Don't be such a narcissist. People aren't as interested in you (or your cat) as you may think.
Harsh, but true. People like to read perspectives and commentary. They don't want to read about how cute your cat is or what you and your friends did this weekend (well, that is, unless its something very interesting that can be related in some key way).
Keep it simple (the template, that is).
I like my template-it's simple. I see some blogs with so many pictures and general crap that I cannot figure out what I am supposed to be reading. You may find it cool that you CAN change the mouse pointer using Javascript, but I immediately exit any blogs with a modified mouse pointer. Call me strange, but this annoys me. If I see one more teenager's blog with Japanese anime I will vomit, I promise.
Make sure your blog looks good in Mozilla browsers.
Most people on the web are using Internet Explorer, however, I have found that probably 25% of my readers use Mozilla. Interesting. This is more difficult than you may realize.
Enable comments on your blog.
What fun is a blog if the discussion doesn't work two ways? Sometimes the most interesting aspect of a blog is the commentary.
Polish your writing skills.
Nothing irks me more (okay, maybe some things) than poor grammar. When I read poor grammar I think "This person has nothing valuable to say. Heck, he can't even write!" (This is not to say that my grammar is always perfect, but I try to at least keep my posts well-written.) I'm not saying that the person who cannot write doesn't have anything good to say. He may, but it gets lost in the poor grammar. I'm also not suggesting that my own grammar is perfect (far from it).
If you don't intend to blog regularly, don't create a blog!
I can't stand it when I find a blog that hasn't been updated in months. Why are these blogs clouding the blogosphere? I come across MANY, MANY blogs that have one post: "This is my blog. I will be posting my thoughts here." That's it! One post with absolutely nothing to contribute to the World Wide Web! If you abandon your blog perhaps you should consider deleting it. What is regularly? At least once a week.
Don't be afraid of what others might say.
The best blogs are usually those that are written from the heart-without concern for what others might say about it. Real Live Preacher comes to mind.I have posted things here where I wondered, "Is this too personal to post?" Then I hit the publish button, and I'm glad I did. The best writing is the kind that knows few boundaries and has few fears. The thing about good writing is it's not good unless your sharing something that is interesting. My favorite authors are eccentrics--the ones who, when I read their words, I think, "Man, I can't believe he shared that!" Think of your favorite books, songs, poems and blogs. They are, inevitably, the ones in which the author has put his guard down, no?
If you create a good blog people will read it.
If you create a bad blog, nobody will care. You will get a few random hits, but not many. All blogs that I link to here are ones that I consider "good." I don't bother linking to or reading the bad ones. Why bother?
Blogs can be pretty cool, but they can also be a pretty lame waste of time and space. I blog because I like to write, mostly, but also because I want to comment and share with others. I have thick journals at home, and they certainly are an outlet for writing, but they don't contain the gratifying element of conversation.
There you have it:
My two cents on blogging. I don't claim to have it all figured out, but I do have a fairly successful amount of traffic here.
posted by MTR @ 9:27 PM
Comments: 0
