What is Good Blogging?

It's hard to say what makes a good blog: who can really say that they've seen all the good ones?
The ones that I find interesting have certain things in common.

First of all, there is content. A good variety of topics make a blog a favorite. Sometimes it's opinion, current events, sometimes history, architecture, relationships, literature, sports, humor, personal interests. Sometimes it's a rant. But not if someone rants all the time about the same thing. Sometimes its amusing and sometimes educational. Variety is the Spice.

Second, it should be well-written. Of course there are typos - I've made a few! Phrasing, spelling and punctuation, if thoughtfully applied, make the writing more enjoyable to read. Creative sentence structures are good if they are clear. Otherwise, it may be hard to decipher the writer's meaning. People tend to write the way they speak in this kind of informal forum, so it is often easy to infer something of one's personality from their blog, regardless of the topic.

Attitude has a huge impact on interest level. Regardless of one's state of mind at any time, overall the blogger ought to be positive and upbeat: likeable. No thanks to rude, arrogant, self-centered egotists with senseless prejudices and narrow minds.

Complexity is delightful in a blog. Yes! Give us more sound and reference links and lots of photos. Links to relevant sites from a blog give the reader a chance to embark on a journey of any length he chooses into your world of interests. Audio and video links provide opportunities to explore the arts and the real world. News feeds are great, and revealing of the blogger. Photos and other graphics can be wonderful ways to expose one's view of reality to the world. We see your eyes, appearance, lifestyle, interests, acquaintances & family. We infer personality from these as well as from the writing.

Personal information doesn't have to be exhaustive. Gender, age, nationality, what you like. Some pictures. Nice to know where you're coming from, but don't want to read your Diary!

Always fresh makes a blog an enduring favorite. Update display photos, change the Blast (and the blast Link) regularly, share your music, hobbies and philosophy. I like to see a multi-dimensional person jump off the page and grab my attention. And I like to feel as though I know the blogger better and like him or her more every time I visit.

A Siren Song

Nymph, my dark-haired Lorelei,
with cunning charms drew me inside
a prison of my tortured mind,
has made a place where Love can die.

Long-lost my golden garden where
in poverty two loves did share
and hope, though dim, before me lay
‘til silk illusions changed our way.

The road to Now led through dark times:
a war we fought between the lines.
We came, we saw, we came again
but did not conquer in the end.

And blameless to this day you claim
what’s best for you and have no shame
for shattered lives and the broken dreams
of a man and the child he never sees.

When Time has left you with its prize -
your youth is gone - you’ll realize
it’s all gone wrong. You had control
but the price is your empty, lonely soul.


tsk/05/31/06