14 May 2011

Advice for aspiring bloggers

From Andrew Sullivan:
I do have a couple of rules which is that if it isn’t updated at least twice a day it’s not a blog, it’s a website. So don’t fool yourself that you’re blogging when you’re really just putting stuff up online. And twice a day is sort of, I think, the minimum...

And the interaction is the second thing I say. Take your readers as part of your community. This is a dialogue, not a monologue. With any luck the dialogue then becomes a conversation. No single person knows very much, and what he knows he soon forgets. So the collective consciousness, or collective mind, of the world out there is what... is really what we’re trying to do...

Thirdly, I really think you have to be yourself. I think this is a medium about personality and voice. It’s about honesty and openness. And people can smell inauthenticity a mile away.
Posted at Big Think.

12 comments:

  1. jaundicediMay 14, 2011 at 10:52 AM

    beg to differ. I think the line has blurred a lot. This is far more than just a web site, yet you don't post twice a day. I know of few sites other than the heavy political blogs that do.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Daughter Number ThreeMay 14, 2011 at 12:32 PM

    I think daily or close to daily is pretty important, but a minimum of two seems like a description of a certain type of blog that I personally find a bit tiring to read.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Cindy KilpatrickMay 14, 2011 at 1:17 PM

    I guess I have a couple of websites then, which is pretty cool because I didn't know I knew how to create a website.

    I do agree about being yourself. Falseness and self-promotion turn me off in a flash.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousMay 14, 2011 at 2:00 PM

    I personally know at least 3 successful and very high quality professional bloggers (people who blog for their living) and I think none of them would agree with those first two points, most would say 1-7 posts per week is enough. And I agree with "Daughter Number Three" that blogs with too many posts are tiring to read.

    ReplyDelete
  5. SteveMay 14, 2011 at 5:39 PM

    And people can smell inauthenticity a mile away.

    What a coincidence, that's exactly what I smell when I read Andrew Sullivan pieces! Hey-O!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. soubriquetMay 14, 2011 at 5:57 PM

    A blog is a blog is a blog. Who's to define it? Where is it written that there are rules? And who wrote them?

    The man can say whatever he wants.
    And I can update whenever I want.
    He posits a definition. Well, strictly speaking, if we want to delve into etymology, a blog is a weblog, which is, or was, a log, as in ship's log, machine operator's log, diary, posted and readable online.
    Great. So a true blog might say "08:30- no milk left in fridge, coffee supplies low. 10:23 went out of house. rainy and overcast. stubbed toe on rock....."
    The truth is that the word, the concept 'Blog' has moved on.
    He says if it's updated fewer times than twice a day, it's a website. What?
    Of course it's a website. By definition, all blogs are websites, but not all websites are blogs. Andrew Sullivan, you're free to invent whatever rules you like. Just as the rest of us are free to dismiss your rules.
    Andrew Sullivan I can smell your inauthenticity a mile away. It smells like what bulls leave behind.

    ReplyDelete
  7. FletcherMay 15, 2011 at 6:20 AM

    Twice a day? No thanks. Once per day is already a major commitment. As much as I like Sullivan (and read his blog), I do have to point out that he is basically an aggregator, with his own staff sweeping the internet for items of interest. If I had my own staff doing the nitty gritty work, I could pump out the posts, too.

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousMay 15, 2011 at 4:41 PM

    Sullivan seems to have forgotten that he disallows comments on his blog. Nothing more than a shrill monologue as a result

    ReplyDelete
  9. Miss CellaniaMay 16, 2011 at 8:11 AM

    People who have other things to do, like a job, would be hard pressed to update at least twice a day. These "rules" can't apply to all types of blogs. If a blog is interesting and consistent, and the blogger reaches out for readers, it will find an audience, no matter what the schedule or topic.

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousMay 16, 2011 at 10:55 AM

    Ridiculous.

    ReplyDelete
  11. bulletholesMay 16, 2011 at 1:19 PM

    So thats what I've been doing wrong! I wish I could have two original thoughts a day worth sharing. I actually went on a spree and did 320 in 340 days a while back; some of them were even OK, and at least half the comments weren't my own. but I'm down to three readers these day. I don't care, I just keep putting stuff up and marking time. My typing and grammar have improved somewhat, but I Still Want To Capitalize Everything I Think is Important!!!
    And my god the punctuation.

    HEY SOUBRIQUET! WHAZZUP?

    ReplyDelete
  12. jesseJuly 18, 2011 at 8:20 PM

    Narrow definition, and narrow mind. Yes, that is name calling, but he started it! (Jack Benny was terrific... and I have a sense of humor)

    So I add as many or as few posts every day as I find interesting or cool enough to share... and that has nothign to do with a diary, ergo, nothing to do with blogging. Yet, it is a blog due to it being a blogspot on Google's framework.

    I doubt many people read the diary type blogs, but the most enjoyable blogs are the ones with lots of imagery and a bit of commentary and info.

    I never started mine for other people, and that so many enjoy it is pleasant, but not necessary for me to enjoy it.

    justacarguy blogspot Jesse

    ReplyDelete