According to Paul Gillin's 2007 book The New Influencers: A Marketer's Guide to the New Social Media, he describes the "emerging standards" of blog maintenance that are a "kind of a Five Commandments of social media". Let's discuss:
1. "Thou shalt link" - couldn't agree more. Nothing gets my goat like reading an interesting blog entry that is sadly without any links. The importance of links are two-fold: (1) it hearkens back to "citing your source," and not linking to where you pulled your quotes or what other blogs you mention is unprofessional and could be considered stealing! and (2) links direct your reader to where they can learn more about the topic of your post that would be of interest while giving yourself some credibility.
2. "Thou shalt not diss" - disagreeing is expected, but disrespect is uncalled for and in the end will only hurt yourself. Be civil in your disagreement will lead to a much more productive debate on your part - set an example!
3. "Thou shalt be transparent" - this kind of honesty is what makes blogs so interesting to read. Posting with integrity and fairness will come through in your writing. Sure, bloggers are leaving themselves open to attack, but comments and emails about your post and addressing them will show that you value the feedback you receive.
4. "Thou shalt comment" - what's the point of the interactivity of blogs if no one comments? Join the conversation and give your opinion or offer further information about the topic. This is what creates a lively discussion and a more engaging blog to read!
5. "Thou shalt not blather" - like I'm doing right now. My high school English teacher had a saying that he would always say when a student asked how long a paper should be:
"Your paper should be like a woman's skirt: short enough to be interesting but long enough to cover the subject." Now that is a good simile.
In order to be taken seriously, I think you as the blogger must take your work seriously. These are some good guidelines for conducting yourself on the internet, which is relevant to this class since most students are new to blogging and don't know where to start or what's expected of a good blog post.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
The Five Commandments of Blogging
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1 comment:
I really enjoyed reading this blog. I wrote my blog over the same chapter but gained some useful information by reading your blog that I had missed from the chapter. I like the writing style that you have and the way that you made an important point come to life. I like what you said about being a good blogger, and how part of being a good blogger is "taking your work seriously." Thanks for writing a useful blog, because by reading it I feel that I have gained some helpful tips to help me become a better blogger!
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