246 - Week 3 Blogging & Marketing - Blog Post


I've tried blogging personally a number of times, and have abandoned the sites after about a month, realizing I don't want to post my personal information online in a way that takes more than 30 seconds, as it does on Facebook.  I didn't really feel I had much of lasting value to share anyway, so why bother?  And honestly, I didn't feel that some of my friends blogs weren't worth reading either (but many were, surprisingly.  More on that later.) Blogs created by an organization or business are different.  Rather than blogging to an unknown audience without thought of consequences, organizations--like libraries--that begin a blog should be aware that their efforts can make a huge difference in their community's perception of them.  According to Dusty Anderson, the factors involved in a blog generating interest, RSS subscribers, Twitter followers, and blog commenters are "Focus, Passion, and Originality." 

My favourite blogs are those that give me information I find both interesting and helpful, and that are updated regularly.  If your blog--which I read in Google Reader--isn't updated at least once a month, I delete you.  (I may follow you on Twitter, but I rarely open Twitter since I'm currently following too many Tweeters and find it overwhelming to sift through all the tweets everyday.)  If your blog ends up repeating what you've already posted a lot, I delete you.  If you give too much info and I can't read your post in under a minute, often I'll delete you.  If you give the same information as another blog I like slightly better, I'll delete you.  If it seems like you think just stating facts will keep me interested, I'll delete you…because you're so dumb (and maybe not dumber than me, but I want to read, as Anderson says, focused, passionate, and unique blogs, not the ones that make me wonder why the blogger bothered).

So, in my opinion, if you write a blog that I feel that I could have written without caring about the subject, or by reiterating the news, or by sharing an uninformed opinion, I will delete you.  My favourite blogs are those that make me feel that I couldn't have written that post--but that I'd be proud to. 

(Tip: the InstantShift blog is a good one…it features a lot of lists…another element I love in a blog.  Break it down for me, Blogger!)

Anderson, D. (2010). "14 Traits of Successful Blogs." Instant Shift.

Tags = blogpostwk3, blogpostwk3n2