I've been reading around lately about other's opinions on good blogging, and then John Porcaro posted about how he wanted to balance his blog in-between both personal and news. John's article sparked my attention and made me think, "What makes a good blog?" Here are key things that you most have to have a good blog:
Goals:
A blog is meant to accomplish something. You get to decide what it is. It is not so much for the reader as it is for your blogging consistency. What do you want to do with your site? I want to influence (well thought out opinions), inform, and build community with people online. Also, I just want to have a fun pass-time. For me, blogging is more about myself then about the reader. I enjoy blogging. At first that might seem ignorant, but it is far from ignorant. If I don't feel like blogging one day then I won't blog. You also need to keep in account the fact that if I'm blogging for influence, informing, and community then I will need to consider the reader. Its not so much thinking, “What do they want to read,” but “How should I present the information to them?” [Your blog most likely won't succeed if you are just trying to blog for money]
Drive:
Be consistent. Don't let your blog die. Stay in it for the long run. Nothing sucks more then finding that one of your favorite blogs died (maybe eternal damnation in hell sucks more but I'll assume you just took that as a cliché statement). Blogging is not like a normal website. Blogging takes a day by day commitment. For example, Peter's Hip Pocket has a great layout, good writing, and it is interesting but he doesn't post enough. It’s that simple. Weblogging isn't about presenting a little bit of information. Blogging is about consisting presenting a good amount of info (at least once a week). That's why Robert Scoble's Blog gets 3,000 hits a day.
Writing:
This is the most important thing. The other day my English teacher was talking about oral presentations and told us, "How you present the information is everything!" That is so true. Today I was watching the news and it was some White House official speaking. He used so many "uhms" and "awws" that I changed the channel to someone that was repeating the information but was sounding intelligent.
The point of that being that when blogging you need to write quality work. I often screw this up by being lazy and not even putting my post into word to spell check them or reading them over (I decided long ago to screw punctuation). I'm not asking you to be J.R.R. Tolkien or C.S. Lewis just proof your posts. Take pride in your work and your blog will do fine. As Dowingba said, "A good writer can make watching grass growing sound exciting."
Layout:
This isn't so for all people but for me personally if a blog looks poor then I won't read it. Attracting the eye is key to a good weblog. You don't need to be showcased for your blog design or be able to join CSS Zen Garden but just make your site so it’s not ugly! I don't mind standard templates but I prefer originality. Here are some blogs which I think meet the guidelines without way beyond:
Tao of Dowingba
Boing Boing
A Step into the Dark
Splix
Heh. Indeed
Sites that go above and beyond:
SerioComic
Naked Church
Little Green Football
Want to see more?
Opinion:
Opinion is what separates blogging from online journaling and news sites. When you blog you always should give your opinion. I could just read a news site if I wanted info, and why would I be reading your journal when I could read my sisters?
Personal:
This is where you need to learn to walk a fine line. Blogging and journaling are very different, but you can be personal in your blog. If you are looking to be personal make sure it doesn't override your blog. You can be personal by including subjects that you are passionate about and telling about your life (but please not too much). Whatever you do, make it interesting.
Community:
This is what I am working the most on. I want people to regularly come to my site and participate. Blogging is largely about participation of the readers (this is where Dean's World rules). I'm not fully sure how to bring that about but I think there are two keys. One, show you opinion. Barely ever will people agree with your opinion fully, and if they disagree with you enough they'll comment. Two, be passionate. For some reason people respond to passion.
Another aspect of community is becoming friends with other bloggers. I've noticed that bloggers are more likely to read your blog and comment on it then just your average Joe (neat play on words with the link). Trading links is also key to popularizing your blog.
Hint: If you want easy hits then comment on my site.
[I’ll post more as I learn more... I've only been blogging for a month and a half]
its not rules it just guidelines if you want an uber succesfull blog. I barely ever think of most of those. I knew about naked church but just for some reason I like that site.
Posted by: Andrew at December 22, 2003 10:52 PMEvery blog has its own internal rules and guidelines, whether we are consciously aware of them or not.
It's knowing when to slip away from the guidelines, or tear up the rules, that presents the real challenge.
You have a great blog here.
Keep up the good work!
Posted by: Wayne Hurlbert at December 22, 2003 11:43 PMI have an old adage that I use when talking about music: You have to know the rules in order to break them.
I always had my own little style in reference to music, but it wasn't until I became enthralled in the world of music theory that I really progressed. It was then that I could fully understand my style and what made it unique, and therefore hone it (closer) to perfection.
I think this concept applies itself to weblogs, as well. (I know, I know, I use metaphors way too much. Don't fight the weather and it won't fight back, so to speak, if you catch my drift, as it goes.)
Posted by: dowingba at December 23, 2003 12:01 AMas I said... I seldom follow all of these rules but I think they are standard rules. BTW aren't you impressed that I've only known CSS for 2 and half months (and been blogging for 1 and a half) :-)
Posted by: Andrew at December 23, 2003 12:06 AMYou bring up some amazing points about the necessity of consistency in blogging. My web site used to be a very successful blog until I tried to make it great. I brought in a grip of friends, tried using intellectual comedy, and as a result.. alienated most of our audience. Then again, most of our audience was 13 yr old girls.
The only problem is basically that my mind can't stay consistent. I create a blog, there is a purpose, there is a fan base, and then I get bored... I want more. How do you think I should go about the expansion of my site without alienated the current users?
Posted by: Murali at December 23, 2003 06:26 AMI think this is a good set of guidelines to keep in mind. It made me think about my blog a little and how my writing seems to be all over the board. But then that is kindof how my mind works.
On a technical point, I tried to ping your blog for a Trackback and got a HTTP 500 error. So you may want to look into that. I'll try pinging again later to get the trackback in place.
Posted by: javaman301 at December 23, 2003 08:22 AMCrap... I see that my trackback pings did go through. Sorry about that.
Posted by: javaman301 at December 23, 2003 08:23 AMMurali,
good question. Whenever I've gotten bored I just tweak my site or something like that. I go and comment on Dean's World and/or Scoble to learn a different perspective. Also, often I try a different spin on things. I'll interlace several different topics in one day(a little bit of something for everyone). That is the fine line I'm trying to learn how to walk. I haven't fully got it but I'm getting better.
Respectfully,
Andrew
(p.s. javaman i took car of those pings)
Yep, that was on purpose. I was try to get that point across crystal clear.
Posted by: Andrew at January 19, 2004 11:12 AMI was just reading this while voting for the bloggies, and I think you've got a lot of good points. Anyway, I strongly beleive in writing for the moment - to quote my english teacher, 'say what you feel, feel what you say'.
Posted by: Summer at January 20, 2004 07:28 PMI'm really glad I found the link to this. It should help me clarify the direction of my own blog. Thanks.
Posted by: Field at January 21, 2004 05:26 AMThis is a good quick overview for beginning bloggers. I've only been around fo about a month now, and I struggle between what to talk about/voice my opinion on and what a reader would want to see.
Posted by: Michelle at January 24, 2004 12:06 PMThanks a lot for the info!! :)
Posted by: Rose at January 25, 2004 09:03 AMi've been blogging forever and i think that guide is great
Posted by: stacia at January 27, 2004 03:22 PMHello! Super work performed. Top PAGE, further so!
Posted by: カジノ at January 27, 2004 04:16 PMMmmm… good points. I need to think more about them, and about the current contents on my blog…
Posted by: Marcelus Giovanni Zalotti at January 31, 2004 01:31 PM
Sounds a little strict. If you are thinking about all those rules all the time while you're blogging, where's the fun? I just write what I feel like writing when I feel like writing it, and I do fine.
As for the layout thing: you and I have apparently dramatically different tastes in design. In fact, the NakedChurch site is just a default Typepad template, with slightly different colours and fonts.
Posted by: dowingba at December 22, 2003 10:48 PM