When printing was first invented it was seen as a threat to the establishment as the masses now had a means spreading information far and wide. History is literally littered with episodes of book burning and attempts to restrict freedom of speech and expression. Today things are different but there are still parts of the world where censorship still exists in varying degrees. In stark contrast to the dark past, anyone can now take on the world with a simple blog. Whether its Wikipedia or Wikileaks, the internet is now an unstoppable force that anyone can take advantage of. In continuation of our articles on blogging here are a few thoughts on starting your own blog. In deciding on what the site will be about one must consider if the blog is just for one’s own indulgence or if there is a desire to attract people, other than friends and family, to read your content. If the latter is the case, then you should give some thought to your intended audience. Beyond the basics of demographics, ie age, gender, location and language you could consider what purpose the blog would serve. Ask yourself why would anyone want to read your blog; what is special or unique about your content, how wide will the scope be and what range of topics and interest areas it would cover. An ideal starting point could be to ask yourself if the blog would serve to solve a dilemma or problem, and do you have the time and desire to keep up the momentum. Are you flexible enough to move, shift and adapt to changes.
Another rather basic consideration is; what does any research on similar blogs interest you? Is your topic saturated with other bloggers? Do you have what it takes to compete in that arena? Is your blog a niche? Passions fade and competition can be fierce, as the bloggers graveyard will attest to, so a little homework on your chosen subject, before you commence, will go a long way.
Other aspects to think about are; would you want it to make money at some point in the future, is the blog there to promote or generate interest in an existing business or project, is it towards a book or other future publication, or do you just want to write for the fun and pleasure of it?
In no particular order, here are some examples of successful blogs:
Guido Fawkes, A Luxury Travel Blog, Life in a Breakdown, Photography Blog, Brides Up North , Help Scout blog, Digital Photography School, Freshome, PsyBlog, What I Wore, AutoBlog, Art Of Manliness.
Once you have decided to write a blog, Tech Talk is ready to help you with the basics of setting one up. Anyone can blog and there are lots of things to blog about so have no fear give it a go. More help on blogging next month.
Get in touch on;
techtalk@yorkshirereporter.co.uk
