As a new blogger, I need all the help I can get. So when I discoverd a book all about weblogging, I decided to read it. After all, I could use the new information. The book that I chose to read was The Weblog Handbook: Practical Advice on Creating and Maintaining Your Blog by Rebecca Blood. The book does a wonderful job of explaining the basics of a weblog, what it is, and how to create a user-friendly one. Blood is a very credible source on blogging, since she has been an active member of the community since 1999.
The book focuses on writing for the blog, what to do and not to do. First, a weblog should convey the writer's personality. One's writing should grow and change as he or she blogs. Different voices may be used until the writer is comfortable with the one that gets the point across the easiest.
Second, the weblog should have some sort of purpose. Whether it is a personal blog for sharing funny stories or one on nuclear physics, blogs should have a main focus. Having a purpose to a blog allows the writer to focus on a specific audience.
Blood also explores weblog ettiquette in depth. Chris, a classmate, examines Blood's ettiquette and ethic rules. Basically, do not attack the readers, make sure the information is accurate and correct, and make links to the information used in a post.
For a novice like myself, The Weblog Handbook was the perfect book to help me get started. Now, I have a better idea of how to write on my blog so that more people will read and understand it. I will try and use these ideas as I continue to blog.
Posted by VanessaKolberg at September 18, 2004 05:24 PM