How to be heard – Stephen Downes…
First listen than be heard!
Holy Crap, can you believe what this guy is saying? First of all, I think that this is one of the best article that I have read so far that I didn’t have a brain fart! For real! I thought I was gonna have another migraine headaches from reading this article, aside to the length of the blog itself.
In life as much as it is in blogs, we all have to plan for something, have a purpose for and what the plan is for, have a way to support the plan and execute the plan accordingly and make sure that the plan is progressive enough to undergo a change in the future.
As is the same with blogs. According to Downes, writing a blog needs a well thought and well excised plan. It also needs a purpose for that blog to exist, be it may serve personal or social agenda or benefits these. If the blog doesn’t have any purpose nor it benefits anyone, than it is nothing but something that some one wrote to complain or just bitch about something. Usually when you write a blog, aside to talk about an issue, you should address or promote some solutions or a question of something of value. For instance the interests that represents the blogger or the reader and the general community as a whole. Your blog also should have content that can be meaningful to the readers and that it should present future purpose and gives explanation to what is important. This content could be anything to everything, the best way to get a good content is to look at what you are reading, listening, watching or anything that involves you that other people can connects to or have a similar experience that people wants to relate and read about. Collect the info that you have and link all the hobbies and interest to websites that have a similar blogging and write about them too. Focus on something educational or something that can teach some one while the same time emphasize on more important things. That way the content will not be too boring. Hello!!! YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT!!!
First of all… any one who wants to start a blog should know what he or she wants to write about, if not then don’t blog at all, because not only that you are wasting your time, you also wasted my freakin time. Basically that’s what it said for the first couple of paragraphs. But here’s the interesting thing that Downes points out… There are many people out there that have other blogs that are probably the same that you are thinking…so, link these blogs to yours, this way you have a support network of what you are writing, and it guarantees you to readers. However, pick what you link to your blog very well otherwise you are just linking bullcrap to your blog and there for what you write will in turn be nothing but a pile of steaming manure. Look for sources that can support your ideas in your blog, when you find them, give them credits to what they wrote and make sure that you comment on their page and vice versa, this will ensure the readers that you know what you are blogging and that there are a community out there that are interested to what you have to blog about.
Stimulate your sense of knowledge, open your mind to ideas that are different than yours. As a blogger, you should have different ideas that can be related to what you are blogging. Also, you need to know how to design a website that way your blog can be as much as enticing to those who reads it and make them know that you are knowledgeable and make the blog easier to read for your reader whom ever they may be. Make your blog as creative as you can be, show your blog that your ideas in the blog represent who you are, represent what you stand for, be meaningful, understanding and be assertive while being resourceful. Aside to that, the design of your blog is as much as important to your blog as it is to the content of your blog. An eye appealing design to your blog, readable fonts, neutral colors that is easy to the eye for reader to read, different color scheme, inclusion of pictures and videos would make sure that your blog have a cult of followers and readers. Use all the resources that are available to you and most important thing about blogging – set aside a time for you to blog about what you are passionate about.
Jansen
October 27, 2007 at 6:23 am
Finally, someone who agrees that the design and layout is just as important!
Nice lonnnng Responce.
Def. hit the points i read out in the article.
& yes we do need to learn coding so we can back up what we’re saying about how the designs just as important. :]
-Daniel
October 28, 2007 at 3:43 pm
I completely agree with your comment with regards to the article selection. Actually, I think everyone that reads the article will. The message was clear in your comments. Successful blogging require planning, structure and design. Establishing a strong support netwok and being mindful of who you’re linking your site to helps with keeping your credentials in check.
-Kirdric
October 28, 2007 at 9:55 pm
Good job with explaining what the article said altogether! Indeed it was long, but it had very important as well as helpful information in it that anyone should go by when creating a new, or thier own blog. I kind of think that a lot of it, many people would sort of subconsciously think about, like having a good plan, and writing about something you enjoy. Yet to be able to see it in written words really helps the mind flow better and feel more comfortable about doing the necessary steps in creating a blog.
October 29, 2007 at 5:54 pm
It seems that you got the article well enough, so let’s ask ourselves a question. What are the purposes of our blogs?
November 4, 2007 at 4:45 am
Yes, this article was very long.Good response. You gave a good explanation. I agree with you that your blog will fail if you dont have any interest in it or put the time and effort into it.