Biology of Blog Dissection 101
By Jacqueline Ingles
The advent of the internet and blogs has ushered in a plethora of people sharing their opinions, views and whatever mumbo-jumbo is in their head.
As you navigate through the blog haven, you will most likely come across writing that should never have been put on paper or the web and others using blogs as their own personal soapbox in cyberspace. I call this unnecessary cyberspace clutter.
Anyone can write a blog but not everyone should. So, what makes a blog good?
1) Blogs Should Serve a Purpose
Anything you write should be of value to your reader and to you. Whether you are writing about the latest wedding trends or health, you have an opportunity to educate and foster conversation. Often times, bloggers turn posts into their personal diaries. Trust me, the world has enough soap operas, we don’t need yours.
2) Use pictures & Videos
Pictures liven up a blog and can lure readers to keep on scrolling and coming back. Every blog should have a picture or even videos. Video blogs are also great.
3) Be Genuine
It is tiring to see how many individuals use big words and hide behind them to pose as intelligent. Readers want to relate to you, not feel inferior. Don’t get me wrong, having a strong vocabulary is a good thing, there is just no reason to sound like you are reciting a chemistry encyclopedia. And, be honest. People can tell when someone is posing as something they are not.
4) Say ‘No’ to the Soapbox
Many blogs have hidden agendas. It is easy to read between the lines on most of them. Blogs should not say what is right and wrong and how you should live your life. Your life is your choice. Ultimately, blogs are opinions and thoughts and every person thinks different.
5) Update
Don’t leave your readers and followers hanging for weeks to hear from you. If you are serious about blogging, update daily or at least every other day. Some bloggers post multiple things a day. Constantly feed your audience.
MY FAVORITE BLOG
A blog that I read constantly and that I find ideal for me is Live, Laugh, Run, Today. The writing is fun, easy and enjoyable. Also, I can relate to the content. Yes, the disclaimer is that I am friends with Abby Gustus, the author. And, I openly admit that. You can read her or dismiss this as promotion…but, if you read her blog, you will see what makes it good and why she was invited to a Skype interview on the Today Show and why Katie Couric and fitness guru Joy Bauer follow her. Trust me when I tell you, those big guns tweet her.
You will see that on every blog entry, there are photos. No one wants to see black and white print on a page. Abby offers a window into her daily life and she becomes real. Her blog is almost a photo album.
She also has a purpose: being a young, working woman and trying to stay fit. There are a lot of women out there that have chaotic schedules and she addresses how to manage being healthy in our fast-paced society. If she slips up on working out or munches on a bad snack–well, she will tell you. Go look, she admits that one day she ate Greek yogurt and had a Diet Coke for breakfast. (Something I see women at my work do almost daily and I am also guilty as charged)
What is most remarkable about this blog is that Abby is in marketing. She decided to do this as something educational and fun–almost a side hobby. It goes to show that there are talented writers out there that can contribute something great to the Web.
Jacqueline Ingles is a multi-platform reporter for KXAN-TV in Austin, Texas. She writes, shoots, edits, fronts her story and then provides a more in-depth story version on her station’s web site daily. She founded the blog “In Ingles Please” in early 2010. A native of Chicago, Jacqueline received a master’s in broadcast journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She also graduated Summa Cum Laude from Loyola University-Chicago.
Tags: advice, blog, blogging, broadcast news, career, Careers, Gen J, Gen Jers, generation j, journalism, journalist, journalists, new media, news, newspapers, print media, reputation, social media, Society of Professional Journalists, spj, storytelling, twitter, young journalists, young reporters