When you're learning about something new, it's easy to feel
overwhelmed by the sheer amount of relevant information
available. This informative article should help you focus on the
central points.
There are certain myths that have grown up around blogs,
bloggers and the blogosphere in general. Here are just some of
them and some clarifications:
Anyone can start a blog! Not just anyone! There are some
requirements, some more obvious than others. Obviously, you need
a computer that you know how to use, an Internet connection and
some experience using the Internet. You also need a host for
your blog; there are blog hosts that are free and some that cost
a small amount per month. One last requirement is not just an
ability to communicate your thoughts but also a willingness to
do so.
Anyone can set up a blog! Some blogs are much easier to set up
and use than others, this depends on your blog host (e.g.,
blogger, iblogs, typepad, tblog, etc.). Some blog hosts take you
through a couple simple set-up steps and you're off writing your
first post but there are others that get far more technical than
the average user may be ready for.
Blogging doesn't take up that much time! That depends! Some
posts, when you have a clear idea of what you want to say, may
take just a few minutes while you may struggle for days
(literally) with others that involve complex issues or thoughts.
In general, blogging is a daily activity for the serious blogger
(some bloggers write up to ten posts a day) and a once-a-week
activity for the casual blogger.
Most blogs are political! Many blogs focus on political topics
but most blogs are just bloggers discussing their lives, loves
and travels. A list of the 50 most visited blogs at BlogHub
http://www.bloghub.com/top50blogs.htm) shows very few political
blogs.
Truthfully, the only difference between you and blogging experts
is time. If you'll invest a little more time in reading, you'll
be that much nearer to expert status when it comes to blogging.
Blogs are in competition with the main-stream media! This is
true in a few cases (not as many cases as bloggers would have
you think). Just recently, there have been some very popular and
influential social and politically-oriented blogs that have
caused main-stream media outlets to back-track and change their
coverage of important events.
Bloggers just criticize and have no new information to add! This
may be true in some cases but blogging today is much more than
the personal activity it used to be. Corporations, media
outlets, public personalities, politicians and experts in almost
every field have now joined the ranks of blog producers.
Considering all this expertise, one would have to say that
bloggers have a lot of new information to add to any debate.
You can't believe anything you read in a blog! That's a bit of
an overstatement. You'll run across bad information and even
intentional untruths in blogs but, for the most part, bloggers
who state facts are stating what they honestly believe to be
fact. It is always up to the readers to verify that any
information they receive is accurate information.
The blogosphere is a meritocracy! Does the cream rise to the
top? Of course it does but outside of the world of the dairy, a
lot depends on how you define cream. If you consider the those
bloggers who have the highest readership to be the "best" than
yes, the blogosphere is a meritocracy with readership being the
'payoff' for being the best. The best, however, is not always
the most popular. You will, while surfing, run across some
extremely intelligent, extremely poignant and extremely erudite
bloggers who have a very small readerships, as evidenced by very
few, if any, comments to their posts. That can be explained by
those blogger's lack of willingness to 'play the game' that must
be played to attract a large readership, e.g., aggressively
promoting their blogs, spending many times more hours reading
and commenting on other's blogs than they spend writing for
their own, listing their blog on every available directory,
etc.. Every one of us has a different definition of success, to
some, a large readership is adequate success, to some using
their blog as a money-making device and actually making some
money is the ultimate success while to others, like those with
an intentionally low profile, feel that simply creating posts
that are perfect expressions of what they want to say is reward
enough.
Need a laugh? Speaking of myths, if you need a good laugh, go
and read the post titled: "Blog Myths and Facts" posted by
'Frank J' at the IMAO blog
http://www.imao.us/archives/002581.html.
That's how things stand right now. Keep in mind that any subject
can change over time, so be sure you keep up with the latest
news.
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