Blogging Myths
When you're learning about something new, it's easy to feel
overwhelmed by the sheer amount of relevant information
available. This informative article should help you focus on
the central points.
There are certain myths that have grown up around blogs,
bloggers and the blogosphere in general. Here are just some of
them and some clarifications:
Anyone can start a blog! Not just anyone! There are some
requirements, some more obvious than others. Obviously, you
need a computer that you know how to use, an Internet
connection and some experience using the Internet. You also
need a host for your blog; there are blog hosts that are free
and some that cost a small amount per month. One last
requirement is not just an ability to communicate your thoughts
but also a willingness to do so.
Anyone can set up a blog! Some blogs are much easier to set
up and use than others, this depends on your blog host (e.g.,
blogger, iblogs, typepad, tblog, etc.). Some blog hosts take
you through a couple simple set-up steps and you're off writing
your first post but there are others that get far more
technical than the average user may be ready for.
Blogging doesn't take up that much time! That depends! Some
posts, when you have a clear idea of what you want to say, may
take just a few minutes while you may struggle for days
(literally) with others that involve complex issues or
thoughts. In general, blogging is a daily activity for the
serious blogger (some bloggers write up to ten posts a day) and
a once-a-week activity for the casual blogger.
Most blogs are political! Many blogs focus on political
topics but most blogs are just bloggers discussing their lives,
loves and travels. A list of the 50 most visited blogs at
BlogHub shows very few political blogs.
Truthfully, the only difference between you and blogging
experts is time. If you'll invest a little more time in
reading, you'll be that much nearer to expert status when it
comes to blogging.
Blogs are in competition with the main-stream media! This is
true in a few cases (not as many cases as bloggers would have
you think). Just recently, there have been some very
popular and influential social and politically-oriented blogs
that have caused main-stream media outlets to back-track and
change their coverage of important events.
Bloggers just criticize and have no new information to add!
This may be true in some cases but blogging today is much more
than the personal activity it used to be. Corporations,
media outlets, public personalities, politicians and experts in
almost every field have now joined the ranks of blog producers.
Considering all this expertise, one would have to say that
bloggers have a lot of new information to add to any
debate.
You can't believe anything you read in a blog! That's a bit
of an overstatement. You'll run across bad information and even
intentional untruths in blogs but, for the most part, bloggers
who state facts are stating what they honestly believe to be
fact. It is always up to the readers to verify that any
information they receive is accurate information.
The blogosphere is a meritocracy! Does the cream rise to the
top? Of course it does but outside of the world of the dairy, a
lot depends on how you define cream. If you consider the those
bloggers who have the highest readership to be the “best“ than
yes, the blogosphere is a meritocracy with readership being the
'payoff' for being the best. The best, however, is not always
the most popular. You will, while surfing, run across some
extremely intelligent, extremely poignant and extremely erudite
bloggers who have a very small readerships, as evidenced by
very few, if any, comments to their posts. That can be
explained by those blogger's lack of willingness to 'play the
game' that must be played to attract a large readership, e.g.,
aggressively promoting their blogs, spending many times more
hours reading and commenting on other's blogs than they spend
writing for their own, listing their blog on every available
directory, etc.. Every one of us has a different definition of
success, to some, a large readership is adequate success, to
some using their blog as a money-making device and actually
making some money is the ultimate success while to others, like
those with an intentionally low profile, feel that simply
creating posts that are perfect expressions of what they want
to say is reward enough.
Need a laugh? Speaking of myths, if you need a good laugh,
go and read the post titled: “Blog Myths and Facts” posted by
'Frank J' at the IMAO blog
(http://www.imao.us/archives/002581.html).
That's how things stand right now. Keep in mind that any
subject can change over time, so be sure you keep up with the
latest news.
James Mahony is the founder of A Guide to Blogging A
site dedicated to blogging
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