The key to a successful blog is the effective use of purpose, design, content, and audience. Forgetting all of that, what truly makes a good blog is a certain “it” factor that makes the reader want to come back for more. This week I reviewed three of my classmates’ academic blogs:
All three blogs taught me how to pull together a blog of my own that might be worth reading.
To begin with, a good blog has a catchy title or quote that sums up the blog in its entirety. For example, Kritina’s blog has a headline beneath her title that reads:
“A through the eyes view of the world around us. The dynamics of effective communication and expression from interpersonal communication, organizational communication, and conflict resolution.”
In a few sentences, she included different types of communication, illustrating to the reader what her blog is about in detail.
Another example of a good blog is one that features an interactive element, like a poll. Several of my other classmates had a poll in their academic blog, with questions like, “How important is intercultural communication?” A poll lets the reader learn something new in just a few seconds, and shows them that other people are reading that same thing they are. Videos are an easier way to involve the reader. Youtube.com has several videos that could be used in a blog, even videos on communication styles, methods, and theories.
Visually, a blog has to have appeal as well. A lackluster blog is one that has few pictures, a boring background, and a layout that does not make any sense. My classmate, Markita, has a blog that is full of visuals depicting communication issues and other pictures that are important to her blog theme. A blog is about the content of the copy, that is certain, but pictures help to entertain the reader further. An entertained reader is more likely to continue reading.
A well-written, well-researched, and proofread posting helps to create a good blog. No one wants to read passages like, “I have not gotten around to yet cuz of that thing.” Text-type such as ‘cuz’, ‘u’, ‘lol’ and others have no place in academic writing, or really writing of any kind. In order to be taken seriously, a blogger must follow the basic rules of the English language. Spelling errors can become annoying to a reader, especially when any online writer or reader is aware that spell check is just a click away.
Blogging is not as simple as chatting about the day’s events or what the weather in Florida is like. A good blog is written for a reason, and has a theme that the writer follows. As the days, weeks, and years go by, I hope to maintain my focus and achieve the status of a ‘good blogger’. No wait, I hope to become a great blogger!
Hi Gina,
ReplyDeleteI think you're already a great blogger! Keep up the great work
-Ms MJ