As I’ve grown as a storyteller and person, I’ve learned to value the creative outlets this digital age has provided. With knowing how much I write, I can’t imagine how hard it’d be for me to be confined by newspaper word limits and page space. This is why I appreciate the art of blogging; as Briggs said, “…unencumbered by the need to squeeze words into a finite space, the Internet proved better for me, as the writer, and I’d argue for readers, too, than newsprint.” Even though this isn’t my first blog post, I’m still learning about different tips and mechanics to utilize. With this being said, I thought why not make my first post this semester on some of the tips I still need to hone, so that I have them written down for my personal reference and for anyone other blogger out there!
For background I’ve always wanted to start a blog, but what really pushed me to do it was an assignment I had to do for my Digital Media Literacy class at Howard University. We were required to read chapter five, “How to Blog” from a book called Journalism 2.0 How to Survive and Thrive, by Mark Briggs. Now, as a graduating senior taking Visual Journalism, I took another look at “How to Blog,” and realized, I still haven’t fully mastered blogging. Chapter five briefly goes over what to keep in mind when starting your first blog; and as I reread it, here were a few key elements and skills that stood out to me.
1. “A good blog is an ongoing conversation.”
When explaining what a blog should be like, Briggs highlights that it should feel like an “ongoing conversation” for your readers. The way I interpret this is that your blog should focus on an idea that people would want to discuss and add to. As a blogger, you should be a promoter of civic discourse.
2. Get to the Point!
When I talk and when I write, I tend to elaborate on the specific parts of a story that no one probably wants or needs to know. So you can only imagine how hard it would be for me to adhere to this tip. Briggs makes a good point and says that you should write “tight and quick,” like you would write a professional email. No one wants to sift through a long email, just to find the important information.
3. Summarize and analyze
This tip is pretty self explanatory. As a blogger, you should be skilled in writing in some capacity, and with that comes being able to analyze the sources you are including in your blog and bring attention to the main points you want your readers to take away from that source. And DO NOT forget to attribute your sources when doing this!
4. Make your blog interactive!
This tip can mean different things for different people, but the way I interpret it is to make your audience apart of your blog in some way! In other words, allow people to comment on your posts, be consistent and update your blog everyday, and again, going back to the first point, make your blog like an ongoing conversation!
5. Do it with passion.
Lastly, and most importantly, be passionate about your blog! You’re not going to put your best effort into something if you’re not passionate about it, so do your best to make your blog reflective of you!
To end, I’ve added my first vlog post which highlights my expectations of and first impressions of Visual Journalism, a course I’m currently taking that’ll enhance my blogging and vlogging skills!
In Black and Write 