Holy Blogs, Batman!

I originally wrote this in October 2008 just a few weeks into my introduction to blogging. Then, blogging was a component to a district cohort class about 21st century education. I think this post still holds up pretty well six months later.

After a month of writing, I think it's time to step back and take a look at this whole "blogging thing." I've noticed a lot of good and not-so-good things about the postings that are flooding our little community here. I call them the 7 Habits of an Effective Blog.

Formatting Counts - If I can't easily read someone's post, I skip right on by. I need a reasonable font, proper spacing, and, demanding as this may be, paragraphs. There's a curious little clipboard icon with a W on it in the message composing box. Clicking on that after copying from Word allows you to post into your blog while still maintaining your formatting from Word. Everyone should take a look.

A Good Title Goes a Long Way - A few days ago, I was scrolling through the list of unread items, and I gotta tell you, there were few that I had any interest in looking at, let alone reading. I kept being drawn to the same titles over and again, even though I was quite sure I had read and reread them. Why? It's all about the titles, baby. Be creative and you shall win comments galore!

Find an Angle - Ok. So there are what, like 36 of us here? I'm sure there are lots of times when we're going to be writing about the same thing, and let me tell you. As an ELA teacher I read a lot of the same thing over and over. The ones that stand out are the ones that come at a topic with an interesting angle - that don't just rehash what fifteen others have already written. Need proof? Read those "World is Flat" assignments all at once.

Be Brief - This is practical on many levels. First, a short blog is much easier to write and when you have to knock one out late Saturday night, keeping is short is by far the way to go. Along the same lines, when looking for a post to comment on, you don't have to scroll far, far, far...far, far, far down the page to read an entire post. If I have to click more than one or two times in the scrolling bar, then I instantly check out.

Pictures - I'm as guilty as the next person (though not Connie, who is sitting next to me) for not including pictures in my blog. However, I recognize that it's really important. It gives a sense of reference and personality - dare I say voice?

Links - Along the same lines, I think embedded links are vital to an effective blog. Actually, I think that it was the original intention of a blog to create a system of links to important articles and such. If we don't include links to outside sources of interest, then what are we really saying about our thoughts and ideas? ...and yes, there are no links in this post. :-)

Post Regularly - I like the once a week mandate for this class. It keeps me regular, like a good bowl of broccoli. Honestly though, a boring blog is one that is not current and doesn't update frequently. Daily would be great, but that would require another paycheck from some sort of publisher.