I spent about 10 minutes with a student yesterday who was worried that her “blog” for the Daily Eastern News would become too much like a print story. Funny how we fall back into the old media formats we’re used to. So, for all of our benefit, I’m going to put down a short bullet list of things to remember when writing a weblog formatted piece for a traditional media outlet (standard disclaimer: your mileage may vary - YMMV):
- A blog is not a story - It can be as long or as short as you want. For a taste of the different styles, check out this post by Instapundit Glenn Reynolds and this post by Poliblogger Steven Taylor.
- Find a niche and fill it. I think this student actually has a good niche, she’s just a little uncertain about where she’s going with things. Write about something you’re passionate about. It doesn’t have to be something earth-shattering. Sometimes, the best-read blogs are hyperlocal or very topically specific - like azalea gardening. I have no interest in azalea gardening, but there are plenty of people who do.
- Link to others who are writing in your niche. In the past I’ve been quick to provide hyperlinks to stories that relate to college media and multimedia storytelling. I want my readers to get the best information possible, and this is one way to insure that happens. If you’re writing a blog and you don’t have any hyperlinks in your blog posts, you’re failing. Period. It’s not a blog, but an advanced version of shovelware. For a good example of someone who took this advice and ran, check out Joe Gisondi - onsportz.
- Try something different. The beauty of the blog is that there are no rules. Try something with video. Try a couple of photos. Try audio. Try writing in iambic pentameter if necessary. There are a number of ways to get your point across without resorting to the nut graph and the inverted pyramid style. Develop something that you enjoy.
Okay, so those are some off-the-cuff guidelines. Will they ruffle feathers? Probably. But who cares? If you develop a devoted audience, then those people who are upset can go stuff themselves.
Remember: Blogging can be journalism AND fun at the same time. But you have to figure out how to mix the two. If you do, send me a link so I can point others to your good example.
on Sep 6th, 2007 at 6:56 pm
i’m curious - why do you suggest to your students to find a niche and fill it? why limit them to a niche?
i approach it quite differently - i encourage them to blog about as much as possible - journalist pieces, sure, but also about their classes, their families, their social lives, books they’ve read that made a difference, songs they’ve heard or movies they’ve seen that make them reflect, etc.
i understand that it’s common wisdom that a “successful” blog sticks with one topic but i feel that is at odds with everything we know about what makes a “successful” students. in my mind, curiosity is key - and curiosity often travels in multiple directions. i’d be curious to hear what you think of this.
on Sep 6th, 2007 at 7:22 pm
David,
I certainly wouldn’t *discourage* students from blogging about topics beyond a “niche,” but for the purposes of working with a blog in a college media environment, it often helps to get students to focus on a particular area for the bulk of their blog posting.
I am quite sympathetic to what you’re saying. It’s more in the spirit of traditional (if I can use that term) blogging, but I’m also cognizant of the strictures of a college media outlet, where authority and top-down communication seems to be pervasive.
I’m curious about what others are doing in this area. When I assign blog posts for classes, I usually try to steer them in a direction. All students are not necessarily going to take to the freewheeling blog format, so a niche helps them stay on track and focus.
on Sep 14th, 2007 at 11:04 am
Hi Bryan,
this is a very interesting read–and connundrum! I sat in yestarday on a teleconference for Marketing 2.0 (a marketer’s group that’s focusing on new-conversational media) where marketers expressed concern that their blogs might sound too much like marketing-speak. Many people in a variety of professions are finding that how one effectively communicates out in the blogosphere is different from the current standards of professional communications.
Some of the best advice offered the marketers–and I’d like to offer it to your students is to lurk. Just hang out reading all sorts of blogs and note all the different communication styles. And don’t get hung up on whether or not the blog has comments–look more for how long the person has been blogging. If a person’s been at it for well over a year, chances are they are effectively communicating with a particular audience–no one keeps blogging if there’s no audience-reward of some kind.
on Aug 24th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
[…] classmate Daniel Johnson has found a good post from the Innovation in College Media Blog about what blogging is and maybe what it isn’t. The post also references Joe Gisondi’s onsportz blog, which is […]