On the Nature of Blogs

I've been reading and contemplating a bunch of blogs for this class. Five of them were "suggested" by the syllabus, and they are written by and for teachers who are interested in using Web 2.0 technology in the K-12 classroom. To contrast those blogs (and to make it more interesting for me, as I'm not particularly interested in that topic), I'm also looking at the Woodland Park Zoo's blog and two blogs I used to read religiously, Real Live Preacher and Why Your Wife Won't...

These eight blogs encompass a wide range of personality. Some blogs have short entries designed to solicit a discussion in the comments section. Some have long philosophical discussions, meant to get the reader to sit back in her chair and THINK. Some are more educational, meant to teach the reader something specific. Some are more like journal entries: this is what's going on in my life right now. They're all different, and yet all successful; format doesn't really seem to matter.

All of the blogs, however, were written in the same general style: informal and conversational. It is a style that draws the reader in. Maybe it is because we are a social species, and when someone is speaking to us in a familiar way, we feel almost honor-bound to at least hear them out before moving on. It is as if it would be rude to turn our eyes away from this person who speaks to us like we are already friends. The very best blogs are written by people who have such a strong voice that we DO become convinced we are friends. I defy any of you to read the early blogs of Real Live Preacher and not want to take that man out for coffee.

Really, at the end of the day, a blog is all about relationship-building. Before you can teach, before you can philosophize, before you can show off the pictures of your trip or your kid, you need to build relationships with readers. This is a really important point for people who want to use blogs for educational purposes. A blog will fail if it is just a forum for facts. People reading the blog need to hear the voice of the writer, and they need to feel a connection to that writer.

The Internet has been accused of isolating people so they sit alone at their computers on a beautiful Saturday morning (as I admit I'm doing now.) But we seek out passion and emotion and friendship no matter what our environment is, and the Internet is no exception. If a Zoo (for example) wishes to write a blog about wildlife conservation, it must embrace this reality. I've read a lot of Zoo blogs that have been full of interesting information, but is dry and boring overall. Zoo people need to forget about being a "scientific professional" and just be human.

And a good writer. That always helps, too.