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Boundaries

How to keep healthy boundaries in your relationships

What makes a good blog?

These are some of my ideas and opinions about what makes for a good blog. They are in no way intended to judge anyone's blog, it is not my place to do so these are merely observations.

  • Subject matter....Interesting topic that needs to be addressed or one that we can learn from is a good start. Or a blog that helps us see an issue from a perspective we have not before or a great story, personal observations about life and things that may be current in the world.
  • Spelling...accuracy in spelling certainly helps to get the point across and makes us feel the writer knows what they are talking about. I may spell in a European manner as I was born and educated there and we do not spell phonetically ( how things are pronounce as they do in the U.S.)
  • Lay out...Is the blog easily read and understood?
  • Grammar... I tend to write in a rambling manner and when that happens such as run on sentences it all tends to blur if it isn't in paragraphs. I know that this is one my own things that I do when I blog.
  • Tone...Is the blog sanctimonious and lecturing? If it is that may cause offense to some. I have been accused of such when it was not intended.
  • Length...A blog that is too long ? I tend to wander off in the middle if the blog is too long. And I have written many a long blog in my time.
  • Number of re-times it is re-posted Is it just me or is it slightly aggravating when you see the same blog, posted almost daily, sometimes even several times a day?
  • Block Blogging. Does the same author post in blocks of two, three or even four or five blogs in a row daily? I think that's milking it if I have seen the same thing over and over. Even I re-post blogs occasionally and usually only post one a day that's if I do blog. In my humble there are so many good blog authors here and block blogging only hogs the board so that the blogs of others get pushed down and possibly get less readers as a result.

    These are only my opinons about what makes for a good blog. You may have different opinions :-) Such is the nature of blogs, we blog, people have the right to their opinons and comments on said blogs :-)
    Joan

     

  • Published Friday, July 31, 2009 7:49 AM by DruidsGlenTarot

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    # re: What makes a good blog? @ Friday, July 31, 2009 6:05 AM

    What excellent guidelines.  On my website I try to blog daily and I wrack my brain for appropriate material and it is not always there so I too re-post old blogs also.  I write like I think and thank God for my husband for he will edit for me and remind of the overuse of words like "also" and run on sentences that I am famous for unless someone points it out to me.  I think my biggest peeve on the Keen blogs is the way some selfishly post the same blog under different names so you get it again and again and they hog the front page so other worthy blogs get pushed to the back.  

    Another thing that really bothers me is the use of loud colors in the font and varying the size of the font etc.  It makes my eyes hurt!  There are many bloggers who don't know what a paragraph means and it makes the blogs very hard to read even though the content is good.  If I have to strain to read I will just give it up and move on to one that is easy to read.

    JMHO here and I am not really criticizing for everyone has there own style but I love the guidelines you have defined and I would like to post them on our website so the community can get an idea of what works best with a blog.

    Blessings Joan and thanks for the enlightenment today!

    Rosie

    Rosalea

    # re: What makes a good blog? @ Friday, July 31, 2009 6:29 AM

    Everyone has their own style and these are not really guidlines so much as my opinion about what makes some blogs to me better than others..
    Joan

    DruidsGlenTarot

    # re: What makes a good blog? @ Friday, July 31, 2009 9:07 AM

    I'm a writer by profession, and these are all very good suggestions.  You should want your blog to be easy to read and visually appealing.  It's all about giving a good impression to your readers.

    I go nuts when I see people using modern day abbreviations, such as how r u, instead of proper grammar and spelling.  To me, it's just plain lazy.  And when the author doesn't bother breaking their text into proper paragraphs I skip it and go to the next blog.

    I agree that you should avoid blog hogging or block blogging.  You all have things to say, but when one member monopolizes the forum with 5 or 6 blog posts at a time I find it to be the social networking version of a bully pulpit, and my reaction is to not read any of them.

    And finally, I'm really turned off by the angry blogger.  We all have bad days, but those who use the blogs to rant about callers or other advisers need to remember that it's customers like me who may be reading your blogs to determine if you're an adviser that I might want to call someday.  I want to be inspired and uplifted by your blog, not wondering if I should offer you some cheese with your whine.

    marinachristie

    # re: What makes a good blog? @ Friday, July 31, 2009 9:26 AM

    I love cheese with my wine, not cheese with my whine :-) And you can sometimes sense the mood a person was in when they wrote the blog....it screams at you sometimes and that is not necessarily going to make me call you.
    In fact I have chosen a nice dutch smoked gouda and some Irish cheese ( Dubliner cheese yummy) and a blue cheese with cranberry for this evening as my guests are leaving tomorrow and this is a kind of last supper :-) Marinated swordfish, and corn on the cob will also be served :-)
    As for the abbreviations, I saw an article about Ireland saying their spelling had gone downhill since the age of texting so it seems as if people now sometimes spell like they text which of course is not good :-)
    And you make some great points, this blog was not to criticize anyone, their writing, spelling and or topics they choose to blog on, it was a commentary of how I feel when I read someone's blog.
    Joan

    DruidsGlenTarot

    # re: What makes a good blog? @ Friday, July 31, 2009 9:58 AM

    Joan

    You make me never want to blog again. lol.  ;o)

    Blessings,
    Fr. Constantine

    Constantine

    # re: What makes a good blog? @ Friday, July 31, 2009 10:05 AM

    Thanks I think Father lol?
    Joan

    DruidsGlenTarot

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