I've put up a list of my five most controversial posts on the side bar right below the top five posts. I have done this because it is these controversial posts to which I owe my audience. Which brings me to today's topic: General Blogmanship.
Several of you that have blogs or journals have just recently started them and so I have some words of advice to help you get going in the blogosphere. Sometimes people use them as just a place to let out their feelings and what-not. But what you have to remember is that this is public domain. You're looking for readers here; if you just want to write for your own private betterment there's pen and paper for that. If you want to talk about personal and interpersonal business, we live within spitting distance, just come on down the hall and talk. With your blog, you've got to make it interesting, you've got to make it something people want to read. First of all, myspace and xanga suck because you can only comment if you're a member, and livejournal is for 12 year old girls, get a Blogger*tm blog instead. As for the layout, keep it simple. I hate those livejournals with the picture in the back and you can't even read what the post is. Or the myspace where you can't even tell where you're supposed to be looking. Anyway, stress content over style.
People like to comment when they read something, and they won't read yours if you don't give them that opportunity. I've got a tagboard and I like livejournal's comment thing. Myspace and xanga suck, like I said. Speaking of commenting, I like it because it lets me know that people are reading and that they are interested. Even if not on the tagboard, I appreciate feedback of any kind. Similarly, I make an effort to comment on other people's, to encourage them to continue blogging. If no one ever comments, you think no one is reading so you stop. So comment on everybody's blog. Next, you've got to tap into what your readers want to see. I acquired a number of new readers on some of those controversial posts because people like to read posts about themselves. I also like to challenge people's political and religious beliefs because that gives them a reason to keep coming back and reading more. Give it a twist. A lot of blogs sound the same, especially ones about your personal life or even political ones where they keep harping on the same arguments all the time, so give yours a certain flavor that keeps people interested. Mine happens to be the recurring themes of religion and mental illness, and of course my famous backdoor logic, but find something to tie your blog together and make it distinct.
So that's that. Nobody cares about your personal life because we are your personal life and we've already heard the story. And nobody cares what you think, only what you can prove (even if through backdoor logic). So blog, my friend, blog like the wind.
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