Blogging Wants You (Part III)
I’m all set up. What now?
Now, you need something to say. Write about a political issue. Write about a TV show. Write about your day. Write about Life, The Universe and Everything. But keep some things in mind:
- Be steady. If you only blog once every month, your friends and family will never see it, because they won’t get into the habit of checking your blog for new material. (There are ways for your readers to be notified automatically when you create a new post, but not everyone understands how to use them — and no one’s going to sign up until you have at least a little bit of a track record.) It’s better to post a little bit every day than a novel in a single day.
- Be yourself. You don’t have to be Hemingway, you don’t have to be Dave Barry, you don’t have to be just like some other blogger whose work you admire. Find your own voice.
- Be personal, but don’t take yourself too seriously. Try to be entertaining, and see the humor in things, but don’t force it. Blogs are sometimes criticized as being whiny, self-centered diaries, but the best ones are fun to read. There are complete strangers — people I’ve never met — whose blogs I enjoy reading even though they contain an awful lot of personal content ( “I took the toddlers to the photographer today to make our Christmas cards….” ) That’s because the content is presented with humor and in a relatable way. It’s so specific that it touches something universal.
- Be considerate. Make sure that any friends or family members who might be mentioned are OK with that. In some cases, you will want to leave out names or identifying details. Remember, just because you didn’t tell Aunt Helen about your blog doesn’t mean she won’t find it herself — and even if she doesn’t have a computer, her best friend might. And be particularly careful not to vent in the wrong way about work if there’s a chance it will get back to your boss!
- Get the word out. Let people know about your blog. If your e-mail software lets you add a standard signature to the bottom of your messages (and it almost certainly does), set up a signature that includes your name and your blog’s web page address. That way, everyone you e-mail will get a link to your blog.
- Don’t be afraid to “blogroll.” Most blogging templates include a place for you to post links to other blogs or web sites. If there’s another blog you like, put their link on your blogroll and see if they’ll do the same for you. Be careful, of course — for example, you might put up a link to a blogger you’ve encountered who shares your hobby or your taste in music, but later you find out that most of their blog posts are political, not music-related, and that their political viewpoint is somehow offensive to you. Of course, just because you disagree with someone doesn’t mean you can’t blogroll them; bloggers can agree to disagree and respect each other in the spirit of dialogue. Just make sure you’re comfortable with another blog’s content before adding it to your blogroll.
Those are a few guidelines to get you started. Mostly, it’s important to just have fun. Come join us in the blogosphere!
UPDATE: Here’s an addendum to the series.
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Bj
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Georganna Hancock
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