Blogging is a popular form of social media. It
can be a great way to keep friends abreast of current events, or it can be a
way to post an online diary anonymously just to share your thoughts. Blogging
is more than simply a matter of writing a couple paragraphs for your audience
to read though. It is important to recognize that certain elements can be used
to increase the appeal of your blog. Conversely, failing to use those elements
effectively can lead to a blog that is visually unappealing or simply hard to
navigate.
Each of my
class members has a blog, and this week one of my assignments was to critique
three of them. These are responses to my classmates:
Hi Annaliisa,
This is your classmate, Stuart Phillips. I love your blog! I
laughed reading about the beans, and at first was a little surprised they had a
Mexican restaurant in China. Then I remembered eating at a Mexican restaurant
in Chile last year. They had beans (be jealous). I like your blog's design, and I love the name. Your writing
flows well, and I enjoyed your sense of humor. I also like the photos. My only
suggestion is to post more of them (I need to as well).
Hi Jeannie,
I enjoyed reading your blog! It is clear to me that your
audience is primarily readers, and I like your design. You did a good job going
for the “simple yet appealing” look. I also really like that you found an image
for each blog post. Somehow that never occurred to me. The only suggestion I
have would be to add more photos (I need to as well). Everyone loves photos.
Hi Matt,
I like that your blog has a simple, user-friendly layout. I also
think it is great that you are using this as an outlet for your own personal
writing, in addition to your school assignments. I have not done any
extra-curricular writing for my blog, but maybe I should. I noticed one of our
classmates posted images with each of her posts and I might start doing that as
well. I think that would be a great way to round out your blog. Do you draw at
all? Maybe you could draw graphics to go with your creative writing.
What I focused
on most with my critiques was the need for more visuals. I am a very visual
person, so it is important for me to see more than just text when I look at a
website. A big part of my job in the Navy is photography, so I have a special
interest in photos. However, as I mentioned with Matt, even drawings can help
accentuate a blog, as long as they are relevant. I also commented on the fact
that my classmates kept their blogs simple and easy to navigate. I find this
very important because no one likes to deal with a website that is difficult to
navigate. It can kill the purpose of having a blog to share information with
others if your audience gets frustrated trying to find their way around.
I also received
some useful feedback from my classmates. In general, people commented
positively on the simplicity of my design and said they enjoyed my writing and
my photos. One big piece of feedback I received (and that I gave others) was to
post more photos. I intend to. One of my classmates, Jeannie, gave me some
great feedback for my blog. She suggested I focus on my fonts, spacing, and
colors consistency. Some of my posts have had different fonts, which can make
the text more visually confusing to the reader. Honestly, I had not even
noticed they were different until she pointed them out. I am glad that she did.
She also suggested that I use the same color schemes for my profile and my
webpage. This makes sense. Finally, she encouraged me to remember to stay
consistent with my spacing. Some of the blogs I have posted have had extra
spaces between the paragraphs. This can also lead to visual confusion for a
reader, and beyond that, it just looks sloppy. I am glad my classmates were
able to provide me with some constructive criticism, and I hope they feel the
same about mine. I appreciate their suggestions and intend to apply them to my
blog.
To wrap things
up, I think there are a number of important elements to any blog. First, it
should be visually appealing. This includes color consistency, font consistency,
and text that is not too small to read. Of course it is important for the text
to be well-written so that it flows smoothly. Imagery is a great way to draw
your audience in! Photographs and even drawings that are relevant to the
subject at hand can be a great way to enhance a blog. A sense of humor, as well
as the use of interesting topics is also pretty important. No one wants to read
a boring blog. Finally, I think it is important for the author to enjoy the
work they are doing. If the writing is forced, it will show. If you want people
to read your blog it should keep them engaged, either through good writing,
interesting topics, or an interesting sense of humor.
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