Blogging: What Do I Want To Say?

Blogging: An Essay Series

“What Do I Want To Say?”

M. B. “Bud” Fields, Jr.
Copyright© 2007 By Grand Organ Productions, LLC
All Rights Reserved

Note: This is the fourth in a continuing series of essays, delivered irregularly, concerning blogging. From this point forward, the essays will move in an “additive” fashion. In order to get the full meaning of this essay, you will be best served by reading those entries which appear in numerical order, before it.

We have taken the opportunity to review the brief history of blogging. We have discussed, as well, some of the concerns relating to personal blogging, professional blogging, and blogging in the workplace. Now we must address what is perhaps the central issue of the entire series. There are many reasons to blog. You may be wanting to have a central point of contact for your communications (besides eMail) on the Internet, or the World Wide Web. (Yes, they are entirely different.) If this is your primary goal, you will want to create a “social” blog. In this case, the “focus” of your blog will be limited to you. How you relate (or do not) to your family, or friends would be an interesting area for this blog. Your first date, your first kiss, your first car, or your first job would all be attractive areas of focus for this type of blog.

If you have a specialty interest, a particular point of view on religion, or politics, or if you wish to focus on a particular problem that you see in the world, you may desire to create a “Focus” blog. The focus may be on high school, high school sports, or the cheerleaders on the high school football squad. The focus can be as wide, or as narrow as you design it. You may wish to rant about the performance of the high school Checkers team, and follow their careers through the year as their "critic-in-residence". You may have some deeply held personal religious beliefs which cannot seem to receive the “light of day” in your life.

You could create a blog where these beliefs could rule! It could be that you wish to attempt to sway your friends toward the better life of cheese. How convincing can you be? There really is no area that is not available for a “focus” blog. There are, however, some considerations you should make before spinning the latest sultry sex scene from the back of your Rio onto the front page. There may well be plenty of reason to decide NOT to have a particular "focus" in your blog. A magnifying glass in the bright sunlight, when focused upon an ant can have some decidedly unpleasant effects. It is up to you to make certain they are NOT unanticipated ones.

You may belong to an organization that needs, or desires a communications tool. MicroSoft has a corporate Blog, for instance. The National Association of Underwater Basket Weavers could wish to communicate with their members, and you are just the person (you believe) to get the word out! Will your blog be an ‘Internal’ blog, designed for the purpose of communicating within an industrial organization? Or, will your blog be an ‘external’ device, to spread the good news for basket weavers everywhere? These are generally the two types of “Industrial” blogs. These blogs are potentially superb communication devices, but only within a very narrow scope and range. They also generally involve “deep” control, and editorial supervision from others. These others may have no working knowledge of blogs, or of blogging, or of bloggers.

If your blog is reflecting anything about anyone other than yourself, this will usually be the case. Everything from name, to content, to design, to layout, to editorial policy will need to be approved (in advance) by someone else. It may even be a group of someone else: an Editorial Committee, or Editorial Board, for instance. Timelines, deadlines, time constraints, time requirements—TIME will become a major issue for these bloggers. Entries, or “Issues” may require months of lead time, just for all the approvals needed to get your words into the electrons. And, what if that unnecessary comma is discovered AFTER all the approvals? Guess what? Yep, back through the mill.

Yours may be an “Issues” blog. You really want the world to know about the sad plight of the Yak. You may wish to rave about a political contestant, and create a “Candidate” blog. You may desire to present to the world your latest creation in Photography, Music, or Writing. We will speak much more on the "Artist” or "Professional" blog in another essay. Just rest assured that there will be much to consider, regardless of the type of Blog you wish to create. Which IS the point of this essay.

If you have no clear idea of why you want to blog, please don’t. Yes, it is perfectly fine to go to one of the 3,000,000 (as of my search results today, anyway) free blogging activities, spend five minutes, and create ‘your’ blog. Imagine with me this first blog entry:

“Umm, well, I don’t really know what I want to put out in this space, and I like reeeely don’t know what I wanna talk about. But, Hello, World! Woooot! ~~(Waves at world!) I’ll thro up some pix l8r, after the kegger.

Go, Heathens!! We are like so TOTALLY gonna beat down th’ Rebels!

Hello Shelly, and Heather (OMG-Friday?? Oh yus! ntnse, baby!), and Paul (<3).

Cya l8r!

Jonathon”

No, I’m not picking on anyone. Which, of the blogs I just mentioned, do you believe would best categorize this blog? Regardless of the one you would use to answer the question, it would, at best, be only a guess. Of course, depending on the category you select to answer the question, it certainly could give purpose to a lot more questions!

You have taken some time to consider some of the potential problems which can occur by creating, and keeping a blog. But, we have by no means considered anywhere NEAR all of them. There is not enough space in the electrons to compile every potential problem for the blogger. These essays are general, and are designed to get you thinking about things. You may well find a problem that is not discussed here. If that is the case, I hope you will let me know. I will cover those issues in particular which should be addressed by, if not every blogger, at least most of them.

Now it is time to consider the type of blog you will create, and how to get your blog read by those persons with whom you wish to communicate. First, decide (generally) which type of blog you will create. Your decision will determine many things. And, those things will determine many other things, even before your first entry is posted—if you choose wisely.

There are many wonderful blogs available on the Internet today. Before you decide which type, or category of blog you will create, take some time to look at the blogs of others with the same type, or category. Look at how these blogs are designed.

Which design most appeals to you? Will you have a place to add, or rotate, your favorite pictures? Will they be on the left? What will you do with all that space on the right? Can you have your favorite music playing in the background of your blog? Can you create fancy borders? Would you rather have Comments or Karma? Will your layout contain one column, or two, or even three? What color best matches your outfit, or skin tone? (These usually change, incidentally—sometimes daily!)

There are many successful bloggers who have created, and maintain, superb web logs that you can see, read, and take away ideas to include in your Blog. Look for them! Take the time now to do some minimal, but successful research. Really consider how you want your presence to be identified. It will save you untold editing hours later. It may even keep you from, in a fit of total frustration, deleting what would otherwise be a sensational piece of work on your part. And, unlike our sad example above, it may very well prevent your friends (current or future) from getting the wrong impression about the very private self that you bring onto the Internet.

I hope you have enjoyed this latest essay on blogging. I will continue the next essay by looking at basic composition, and determining the best place to put your blog. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or ultimatums, please address them to [e-mail].

Write Well!

M. B. “Bud” Fields, Jr.
Clarksville, Indiana

You can visit my Blog at: http://www.Writing.Com/authors/kybudman/blog