:: Life on Planet Dan-E ::

:: Friday, June 03, 2005 ::

:: 9 Core Values of Blogging ::

I found this cool little guideline for how to blog.

According to a guy named Steven Streight, there are 9 Core Values to Blogging. They are an expansion of the Universal Blog Mantra (Authenticity-Passion-Transparency):
1. Authenticity
2. Passion
3. Transparency
4. Credibility
5. Individualism
6. Creativity
7. Originality
8. Relevance
9. Integrity

While I believe that your blog should follow your own rules (and so does Mr. Streight, actually), these look like a good set of - if not rules, then suggestions - to follow. I say that because this guy seems to be a professional blogger being as it he somehow maintains six (6) blogs. At least two of which seem to have a large following.

Is my blog any or all of these things? Let's see:

1. Authenticity: Everything I write about represents a small part of me. Whether it's about how my day went or just another long-winded pontification about... whatever... everything I write either actually happened or is some random thought coughed out of my brain.

2. Passion: There's a certain intangible quality to blogging well. It's not about taking a few hours of your day to write a Top 100 list, (though it helps). A Masters in English won't help you blog well, and please PLEASE realize that if you tYpE LikE tHIs, it's vastly more annoying than cool. I'm not trying to say I'm a master blogger (snicker) for that matter. But like movies, books, sports, and cooking, blogging is a hobby, and something I look forward to doing. Like sports and cooking, I always try to get better. And when I write, I'm pretty much in my own little world until I’m done.

3. Transparency: This blog isn't as open as others, but there's still a small but significant part of me that being put out there for everyone to read. I've been told recently that the "Top 100" post has been passed around via people I never knew read this. In the post about "Why I Blog" part of the process is "writing like no one will read it, taking a deep breath, and clicking 'publish.'" And I've done a few of those.

4. Credibility: Everything written here has actually happened at one point. Opinions expressed on here are my own. Observations, confessions, and narrations are all from my hands. That funny smell? It’s you.

5. Individualism: Well, the blogging phenomenon being what it is, there are plenty of people who might have a style similar to mine. People who know me and know what I'm like say that they learn new things about me through this. Or if there's something about me that was a head-scratcher, they might read something that makes them go "oh, that explains it."

6. Creativity: I'm an artist, aren’t I?!? Well ok, I always thought my blog about pirating was pretty funny. I mean, it’s not one of those "ROTF" laughers but still. And for whatever reason, no one has tried drilling that gold mine. I mean there's not much you can do with that joke but still.

7. Originality: Well, yeah. God broke the mold when he made me, just so he wouldn't do that again. Friends from school point out that "for an Art Director, you write a lot. That's because it's more fun to write my thoughts than it is to simply post pictures on the site (not that there's anything wrong with that). So while I'm not the only one to blog that I was once really fat, or to present it in a Top 100 list, I'm the only one to do it on a dark brown-gray background with reversed-out yellow letters. (I checked.)

8. Relevance: Depends on who you ask. My faithful readers (all 7 of them; I still love that joke. Wait, I have 8 now. YES!) probably consider me relevant, especially those that leave comments. I'm sure there are those that read it just 'cuz they're either bored or are trying to avoid doing work (two of many reasons I blog). Which is fine. If the question is whether I'm culturally relevant, that's also a yes since some of my posts are commentary on pop-culture stuff. Or maybe not, since this blog is mostly about me. This one is probably the weakest of the nine.

9. Integrity: I think it fits since like I mentioned before I keep my posts as truthful as possible. I may omit details but I don’t change anything. One thing I refuse to do is mention names in a negative context. If there's a conflict with anyone, I may mention it but I will not mention who it's with. My opinions are my own, and I'll stand behind anything I write. Even if I'm blogging about something fun, I stopped using full names, sticking to initials, if that.

To varying degrees, my blog does seem to meet the 9 Core Values. At least by my intepretation. And at least from what I know of the people, the blogs I read regularly seem to meet the Core Values as well. But you bloggers shouldn't go evaluating yourself based on someone else's ideals. I posted this since it was interesting but largely because I thought it might be fun to write about. There are no hard rules to follow when it comes to blogging. It's a reflection of yourself, and how you want people in the cyber-community to view you. How many readers you have is irrelevant. However, if you do have even a few, encourage them leave comments since really, blogs have become yet another form dialogue

If you want to start a blog, first thing is to find your own voice. Don't talk about just yourself, and don't turn it into some lame daily journal. Post as often as possible. If you're leery about being too open, then just be honest with the stuff you do share. Make it as much a part of you as your car, your clothes, or your hair.

Unless you're one of those idiots that tYpE LikE tHIs which is quite possiblly the most egregious thing a blogger can do. In which case, don’t bother. You suck.

:: Miscellaneous Ramblings by Dan-E at 11:33 AM [+] :: | 0 comments
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