I See the Light at the End of the Tunnel

Chapter 7...

So I've finally gotten to a section in this book that I've found interesting. Yep, that's right. Kilian's biggest critic at SHU actually found the end of the book to be useful. (and not just because it's the end of the book either...) His explanation of the different types of blogs allowed me to see just how broad the spectrum of online writing really can be. I always thought MySpacers who kept daily blogs were a bit self-absorbed, so I was happy to see that there are a lot of other uses besides academics and leisure. Who knew a news or advocacy blog could make so much of an impact on society?

He even breaks down just how to organize a blog to better suit readers.I like that he basically tells us to KISS (keep it simple stupid) instead of making everything long and elaborate. And, Kilian does an excellent job at telling us what information is appropriate. Each post...is like a chunk: a mini essay. I think it's great that he found a way to tie in this chapter with his earlier chapters. Maybe I was too harsh when I said they were a waste of time...

Well, for me, I felt like I didn't learn a lot from those chapters, but I guess if I hadn't read them, I wouldn't understand Chunking, and therefore, I might have missed his point.

Chapter 8...

I loved the Semantics section of this chapter. Last year, in psychology, we learned all about semantics, and how people interpret differently. I always knew word choice was important in conveying the right emotions in an article, but I guess it's more important than I realized before. See, Kilian isn't a total waste of time...I guess I'm kinda talking to myself here...

The elements of persuasion--any journalist knows that persuasion is very important in an article. If you don't get the reader to agree with you, they'll probably stop reading by the second paragraph, which may well just be the second sentence... Kilian did a great job breaking down the best ways to persuade readers. Sure, he starts with the obvious--logical argument, but then Kilian expands onto a bigger front--emotional appeal. From previous experience with features in high school, we always tried to invoke emotions in our audiences to persuade them to go out into the world and make a difference, whether it was Pay It Forward or Voting.

All in all, this book wasn't an utter waste of time--only half of it was, for me at least. I know I expressed very strong emotions about the book earlier, but I'm glad Kilian finally explained writing for the web in the final three chapters of the book. Took him long enough. Still, he provided an amazing amount of examples for first-time bloggers. With the help of his book, anyone could write a decent blog.

What does everyone else have to say?