Two tips for bloggers

@anyablue (363)
United States
February 11, 2007 7:20pm CST
These two tips were created after many hours of non-scientific reading and "research" with friends that write blogs or read them. The #1 worst thing for readers to encounter is bad or nonexistent proofreading. The #2 worst thing for readers to encounter is long paragraphs. I read five blogs today that dealt with making extra money. I found things like "I be making money" and "You I make money." Since I am regular readers of these blogs I knew these were sloppy proofreading mistakes, and not a poor grasp of the english language. If you do not take the time to proofread your work your readers will know and think less of you. The second thing on our list is really long paragraphs. People have different reading habits than they do offline. It's really difficult to get away with Dickens-esque paragraphs because people don't want to spend the time reading that online. What are some things/problems/mistakes you have encountered as a reader or author of a blog?
5 responses
@Denmarkguy (1845)
• United States
13 Feb 07
As a reader, my background as a copyeditor and proofreader often comes to the surface, and I find myself getting mildly annoyed at content that CLEARLY hasn't been spellchecked or even read through before getting posted. Whereas I am aware that I am "old" (at least in the world of blogs), I can't help but feel appalled by people who expect to be taken seriously when their blog is almost entirely written in "txt msg." Yes, I *know* that "language depends on usage," but gimme a break! As a writer (who keeps a half-dozen blogs, mostly "topic specific"), my main challenge is "too much information." I agree that long paragraphs are a drag to read, and 80 lines of NO paragraphs feels like "word soup," but sometimes it's hard to be adequately thorough on a topic, without "going on, and on, and ON" about a subject. I think my writing reflects my own disappointment in many sources, when I do research online. I may get 2000 hits on the keywords I'm using, and none of the sites offer more than a sketchy synopsis with NO new in-depth insight. If someone is going to take on a topic-- even if we're dealing with personal anecdotes-- I want some MEAT on the bones of what I'm reading!
1 person likes this
@anyablue (363)
• United States
13 Feb 07
IAW U. TT iz 2 aaarrgghh! WU WI? ILMURLABITIMMHC!* hahaha...Sorry, about that. I just couldn't resist. I have to agree, sometimes a long paragraph or two is in order. I guess I would just advise people to put some effort into their writing and make it a memorable reading experience for others. Do you have any of your blogs linked to your profile? *Translation: I agree with you, text talk is too aggravating! What's up with it? I like making up ridiculously long abbreviations because I think it makes me hip and cool. Just a side note here...I didn't think that last one was real, but it is. Too scary.
1 person likes this
• United States
7 Mar 07
NFW? UG2BK! And people wonder why news coverage has turned into 5-second sound bites... people can't even concentrate long enough to write a complete word. Thanks for the best vote!
@maribea (2366)
• Italy
21 Feb 07
I am not very expert about blogs but I do agree with you..I think what you wrote can be used as a good advice for everybody writing here...for example, I often make mistakes while writing here..sometimes it is because I don't know the proper way of writing the thing I have in mind, but sometimes it happens only because I didn't pay enough attention or didn't proofread...I must apologise for this because I can imagine that this might be boring for native speakers reading my comments and posts...the fact is that I don't have enough time for everything...and this is why I think that it is nice to write as descriptive as possible but without creating a novel because we are so busy and don't have enough time to read too long paragraph. thanks for making me thinking about this matter
@anyablue (363)
• United States
21 Feb 07
I think you have great posts and discussions! I wouldn't worry too much about that. Sometimes I have to slow myself down and really read a discussion here. I'm usually posting here when I should be working so I try to post as fast as possible.
@Idlewild (6090)
• United States
14 Feb 07
To me one of the biggest turn-offs to blog readers is a blog that doesn't update consistently. You might find a post every day, or several times a day for a while; then there may be a gap of a week or more. If readers find the same content on a blog that was there on their last visit, they may stop coming back. It's important for a blogger to provide fresh content on a regular basis--not to say every day,but the intervals should be consistent.
1 person likes this
@anyablue (363)
• United States
16 Feb 07
Good point. People don't wait much on the internet, especially when there are a zillion other blogs out there to read.
@shirgie (230)
• United States
13 Feb 07
I am a fairly new blogger so I haven't had time to see all the problems yet. I do know the thing I hate the worst when visiting websites is broken or outdated links. I supposed that is a big annoyance for blog readers also. Thanks for your tips. I do notice bad grammar here on mylot. I figure though that many may not be writing in their native language so give them the benefit of the doubt. Thanks again.
@heartie (59)
• United States
12 Feb 07
wow..that's the use ful advise...you said it..