What Makes A Good Blog?

I started The Working Gal six months ago and as 2009 is drawing to a close, I can’t help but reflect the year that had passes me by – taking stock of what had transpired and whether the goals that I set for myself earlier are met or not. I must confess I’m not a good keeper of goals. I realized some time ago and since then, making new resolutions had never been my thing. But when I set out something new, I do make a mental note of what I hope to achieve. So, there you go…I’m now in a reflective mood.

So, this year is when I really started blogging. I had never put down my thots on writing that much in my entire life until this year - I still can’t believe it myself. I started The Working Gal more like an experiment because I wanted to see the difference between maintaining a blog within a corporate website and a personal blog, but on the same theme: careers (oh well, what else do I know, rite?) But wait a minute…I got carried away and decided to start another blog (oh yes, the blogging flu just got into me)

Seriously, I’m still learning the blogging ropes and I went scouting for clues on what makes a successful blog, specifically a career blog. No tips on good career blog (readers, if you found a real good article, let me know) but stumbled a good one on what makes for a good blog. Well, I hope this inspire you as much as it did to me…

1. Good blogs have a voice.

Who wrote this? What is their name? What can I figure out about who they are that they have never overtly told me? What’s their personality like and what do they have to contribute – even when it’s “just” curation. What tics and foibles fascinate make me about this blog and the person who makes it? Most importantly: what obsesses this person?

2. Good blogs reflect focused obsessions.

People start real blogs because they think about something a lot. Maybe even five things. But, their brain so overflows with curiosity about a family of topics that they can’t stop reading and writing about it. They make and consume smart forebrain porn. So: where do this person’s obsessions take them?

3. Good blogs are the product of “Attention times Interest.”

A blog shows me where someone’s attention tends to go. Then, on some level, they encourage me to follow the evolution of their interest through a day or a year. There’s a story here. Ethical “via” links make it easy for me to follow their specific trail of attention, then join them for a walk made out of words.

4. Good blog posts are made of paragraphs.

Blog posts are written, not defecated. They show some level of craft, thinking, and continuity beyond the word count mandated by the Owner of Your Plantation. If a blog has fixed limits on post minimums and maximums? It’s not a blog: it’s a website that hires writers. Which is fine. But, it’s not really a blog.

5. Good “non-post” blogs have style and curation.

Some of the best blogs use unusual formats, employ only photos and video, or utilize the list format to artistic effect. I regret there are not more blogs that see format as the container for creativity – rather than an excuse to write less or link without context more.

6. Good blogs are weird.

Blogs make fart noises and occasionally vex readers with the degree to which the blogger’s obsession will inevitably diverge from the reader’s. If this isn’t happening every few weeks, the blogger is either bored, half-assing, or taking new medication.

7. Good blogs make you want to start your own blog.

At some point, everyone wants to kill the Buddha and make their own obsessions the focus. This is good. It means you care.

8. Good blogs try.

I’ve come to believe that creative life in the first-world comes down to those who try just a little bit harder. Then, there’s the other 98%. They’re still eating the free continental breakfast over at FriendFeed. A good blog is written by a blogger who thinks longer, works harder, and obsesses more. Ultimately, a good blogger tries. That’s why “good” is getting rare.

9. Good blogs know when to break their own rules. Duh. I made a list, didn’t I? Yes. I did. Big fan.

Me meeting all that? No, far from it. A good blogger I’ll be in the long run I'm not sure but I know one thing for certain though – the more I blog, the more I learn – not just the subject matter alone but also more about myself. And I think that’s worth it! So 2010, here I come and bloggers out there, I'm still AROUND.