Blogging as we know it today began to evolve towards the mid 90s from the moderated newsgroups of USENET. I’m not pulling this off the top of my head either, I wouldn’t know where to begin on a fact like that. You see, this is what Wikipedia has to say on it. But how did blogging, something that is so impersonal in that it involves mere text and the occasional picture (unless it’s a photo blog, in which case there’s going to be a ton of them) or video get to be so popular? And what makes or breaks a blog? Now I’m well aware that at this point I am but a layman when it comes to blogging, this being my first post and all. But that doesn’t mean a layman can’t make observations (hell that’s what a blog is for! :)).
First off, I’d like to start by contradicting my own position – blogging does not necessarily have to be impersonal if the author realizes that his* job is not merely done once a new post has been put up. If the author respects his readers enough to respond to their comments, whether they be positive feedback or scathing criticism, he will find that, over time, he will learn much more than what he intended to. This will reflect positively on his blog as well. This keeps the existing users hooked, while bringing in new users at the same time. A virtuous cycle like this motivates the author to improve the quality of his content with every blog post, resulting in a gradual increase in popularity.
Secondly, and I cannot stress this enough, the human mind is basically attuned to speaking more than listening. Every average Joe and his dog want a blog (not to mention a Facebook account :)). While there is nothing wrong with this, it does lead to a huge information overload. There are multiple blogs out there on the same topic. Many of them do nothing more than to plagiarise articles from the better known ones in order to ride their popularity. Others start off strong only to lose steam way too early. This is the main reason why a huge number of blogs out there are languishing in the lonely depths of obscurity, which brings us to our third point.
Content. This is what distinguishes the best from the rest. I realise this is easier said than done, but the competition out there means that churning out sub-par posts is never going to work out well in the long run. Remember, you only get one chance to make a first impression. Jeff Atwood of Coding Horror fame has said that the average web user today is more fickle than ever, thanks to being spoilt for choice. While his post refers to page rendering times, the same can easily be extended to website content as well. If you can’t satisfy your users, somebody else will.
Posting frequency goes hand in hand with content in determining the quality of a blog. A top-notch blog with two posts per year just can’t sustain the same level of interest as another one with above average posts every other week. It all comes down to balancing quality content with the frequency of posts, and it doesn’t always have to be a trade-off.
Lastly, the tools. While a lot of people might love 80’s disco nights, the same “throwback to the good ol’ days” principle doesn’t apply to blogging, and to websites in general. Not everyone can get away with an ultra-simplistic Craigslist kind of layout – let’s face it, more often than not, they’re eyesores. This is where tools like WordPress fit in. They offer all the bells and whistles to average non-technical users without them having to pay an arm and a leg for it, while keeping it deceptively simple too. This allows the user to focus on content without having to get caught up on details.
Why am I jumping on the bandwagon? After a long while of reading a variety of blogs from people all around the world, mainly on technology, I’ve developed a strong desire to jump in and start something of my own. And I do realize the irony of choosing to talk about these tips in my very first blog post. Only time will tell how well I manage to stick to these basic guidelines. Also, while these tips have been stressed enough by a multitude of more experienced bloggers numerous times in the past, I guess I can safely say that there are an even wider number of blogs out there that would do well to follow these tips. An excellent, more detailed guide by Alan Skorkin can be found here.
* please don’t misconstrue me as a sexist. He is meant to be read as he/she throughout this post.
silvernovember 