The New Blog Entries Category

A place where authors can exchange ideas or thoughts. Talk about what categories are hot and which ones are not.

Moderators: Celeste Stewart, Ed

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Nessiee
Posts: 158
Joined: Thu Oct 13, 2005 3:49 pm

The New Blog Entries Category

Post by Nessiee »

I like the idea of this. Just wondering a few things. What really makes it a blog entry? That it's personal, less formal writing? And do you think there is a market for that too? I know some people in the request section are looking for 'blog-like' articles, so I guess there must be some demand for it.

And with all the blog sites coming out lately, perhaps there is more need for content then I suspected...

Anyway, I love how everytime I come on, I keep finding something new and fun on this site. It just keeps getting better! Keep up the great work everyone!
constant-content
Site Admin
Posts: 1330
Joined: Fri Jan 21, 2005 9:20 am

Post by constant-content »

I thought it would be a good addition. There are tons of blog sites and with all the recent news about blogs I think it would be a good idea. Its still an idea right now, I may remove it. I think less formal writing is the key, first person writing.

I'm going to try and market the site to people looking for bloggers and see how it goes.
TheWriteKind
Posts: 39
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2005 8:25 pm

Post by TheWriteKind »

I hate blogging....personal opinion...but....

Blogging is personal recounts. For example, "I own a Ford Focus and it's a piece of crap..." or "I love my new Golden Retriever puppy whose name is......" First person, personal accounts...not articles, more like a journal entry. Yeah, that's more like it...blog=journal. Before the term 'blogging' came in...it was all about online journals....which are now called....BLOGS! (gawd, i hate that word)
constant-content
Site Admin
Posts: 1330
Joined: Fri Jan 21, 2005 9:20 am

Post by constant-content »

Right.. I think the difference will be "Blog Entries" are more like a journal entry, with personality. I see a market for it now that blogs are getting more and more popular specially with the recent purchase of weblogsinc.com for 24 million by AOL and the purchase of weblogs.com for 2.4 million by verisign.
Nessiee
Posts: 158
Joined: Thu Oct 13, 2005 3:49 pm

Post by Nessiee »

Okay, so that's cool... I was wondering do blogs have a typical length? Short? Long? I was thinking the entries in blogs aren't usually as long, but I'm wondering. Anyone have any ideas?
Blueshadow
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Oct 07, 2005 3:52 pm

Post by Blueshadow »

i'm in the process of starting a blog site and i would really be interested in seeing this category in action.
TheWriteKind
Posts: 39
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2005 8:25 pm

Post by TheWriteKind »

I would guess that blog article length would vary. I've seen some really long rants, some really short ones too. Maybe our leader has an idea??
Article Admin
Posts: 724
Joined: Wed Sep 07, 2005 4:49 pm

Post by Article Admin »

This is my idea of a blog, but maybe I'm wrong. If so, I hope somebody will correct me, as blogs are an area where I don't have a lot of experience.

I think that a blog can be any length, depending on what you have to say. But I also believe that the article should be kept tight, not ranting off in all directions. So basically, say what you have to say in as few words as it can be said. Does that make sense?
Dorothy Edison
Posts: 97
Joined: Tue Sep 20, 2005 12:40 pm

Post by Dorothy Edison »

I think AA has a point. Readers still want to read *about* something. The personal blogs with sites like LiveJournal really don't contain too much interesting information. There still has to be something to say, a story to tell, or a point to make.

The most successful blogs don't use the word "I" a lot even though they may contain more personal opinion or observation than fact. And I suggest keeping any "I" out of the first sentence of any blog--a broader statement that relates to what you're going to talk about will grab the reader better.

For example, I was proofreading a friend's app to graduate school. He started out talking about what his conscience was telling him. My response was, "These people don't give two cents about your conscience. (They'd tell you you need a church, not graduate school). Get to the meat of your point.' The fact was, this person is a very good writer, but slogging through that dragging, self-centered first paragraph killed my desire to read further.

DE
another_mother
Posts: 34
Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2005 9:54 pm

blogs

Post by another_mother »

It seems that some writers view blogs rather negatively. Personally, I think blogs are great, and the raging popularity indicates that they are well-received by many people.

Blogs are to the internet what reality shows are to TV. Many people like to wade through other people's lives and experiences, especially when common experiences are shared.

Blogs can be a great resource for factual information, not just "rants." Many people find it more interesting to gather information from sources with a less formal tone. They learn something while being entertained, instead of merely absorbing information.
damyanti
Posts: 95
Joined: Sun Sep 11, 2005 7:38 pm

Blogs are not mere rants

Post by damyanti »

Blog sites can be very useful, and though the word "blog" doesnt sound nice, it came from weblog, and is now a common term.

I have been blogging for the past two years, and blogging, I have found, can be as formal or informal as you want it to be. It is entirely upto the blogger to set the tone.

Sometimes, it is companies that set up blogs, in order to set up clientele for their line of work....a blog on cars may be started by somebody in the business, who wants to share info in a casual environment.

Chris is right that blogging is catching up like wildfire, and there are bloggers who actually need a lot of content, as they keep a lot of blogs going which help them generate concrete business.

Blogs are the media's new opinion-makers, a lot of companies troll thru blogs to see what is hot, and what is not, views on politics, economics, business and technology are also affected by blogs!

And on another note, during the tsunami that hit Asia, there were a few blogs that did a great job uniting people, guiding the right resources to the areas where they were needed, and generating a traffic of over a million hits per day, so they are not so useless after all :D
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