Basics Of Blogs And Blogging

H

ave you heard other people      If you find the thought of your
talking on and on about         own blog appealing, and have an
their “blogs” while all you     Internet-connected computer, here
could do was smile and nod?           are some suggestions to help you
                                      both get a blog going and build
Yes, “blog” is a peculiar word,       an audience with whom you can
conjuring visions of                  share it:
mosquito-infested swamps, and you
can’t imagine why people would be     First, choose a topic for your
eager to get more visitors to         blog on which you will enjoy
theirs.                               communicating, and prepare your
                                      material. You opinions on a
But eager they are. In spite of       subject are fine, as long as they
the rather unfortunate name,          are based on some underlying.
blogs are the hottest things in       There are always going to be
communication since cell phones.      those who know as much, about a
Blogs are websites on which           topic as you, and if you want a
almost anybody can post               credible blog, you need to be
information on almost any topic       able to back up your statements.
as often as they like. Blogs can
be devoted to a single factual        Add some humor and personal
topic, or they can be the             experiences to your topic if you
equivalent of personal diaries in     can. Writing a travel blog about
which people record their private     places you have actually been,
thoughts and observations about       and about colorful locals whom
the world. The contents of a blog     you actually encountered, will
are limited only by the               make much better reading than
imagination of the blog’s             just posting facts and figures
creator, or “author”.                 picked up from travel sites and
                                      TV shows. Offer material which

will appeal to both novice            peaceful state of affairs in
travelers--like how to avoid          Thailand today, however, will.
pickpockets--and more seasoned
ones--like the best undiscovered      Updating your blog will require a
attractions in a specific             commitment from you. You’ll need
destination.                          to establish a regular time to
                                      search for and write about fresh
Don’t limit your blog to your own     news, and get it posted. There’ll
experiences. Keep it updated with     be times when not much has
news that might affect those          happened, and there’ll be times
interested in your subject. While     when you can’t type fast enough.
your experiences can give people      But two or three times a week are
valuable insight, recognize that      not too many to post something
your opinions about what happened     new. Even it it’s only to tell
to you or about a specific            your readers that not much has
product are, after all, just          been going on, share a few
opinions. Give people factual         thoughts, and tell your readers
information which they can weigh      when to next check in for your
for themselves.                       next entry, make an appearance.
                                      Your audience will keep coming
Keep you blog current. On the         back as long as they know you
Internet, news can become old in      are.
a matter of hours, and what
happened a month ago is ancient       Keep you blog as simple as you
history. Telling people               can, without sounding like you
considering a trip to Thailand        don’t have a complete grasp of
that Thailand experienced a coup      your subject. You want to appeal
last September will do nothing to     to as many people as possible,
help them decide about a trip         and nothing will drive those
next month. Updating them on the      newly interested in a subject

away faster than lots of              up, or those who want to
technical jargon and statistics.      reference your earlier writings.
You can provide complex               And list keywords for your
information, as long as you make      archived work so that new traffic
the effort to put it in               will be able to find its way to
user-friendly terms.                  you.

Find a memorable name for your        Finally, make sure your blog is
blog, and use your blog editing       professionally presented. You
feature to post it in large,          have a spell checker, so use it.
bold-face type. “My Hiking Blog”      Proof-read your copy and correct
will probably sound interesting       any grammar or punctuation errors
only to Mom and Dad and only          before you post your work. If
because you never write or call       you’re not sure whether you are
them while you’re out                 using a word properly, get help
adventuring. “Climbing through        from an online dictionary.
the Clouds” will appeal to those      Respect your readers as
who either tackle the high places     intelligent, well-informed people
of the Earth, or want to.             who could just as easily spend
                                      their time elsewhere.
Every so often, say, at the end
of each month, archive your           These suggestions may make your
existing blog posts. Your blog        entry into the world of blogging
editor will let you do this in a      more successful, but it’s up to
less than a minute. The entries       you to commit to building and
will still be available for new       keeping an audience.
blog readers who want to catch

Read more articles by: Chris Taylor

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