Why Write This Blog?
About a week ago a Facebook friend commented on one of my posts "thanks for the blog" that was quickly followed by my daughter telling me she thought I should write a blog. Initially that seemed a silly idea, it still seems an odd one, after all, I am not all that "interesting" a person. I don't see lots of folks clamoring to know about me or to discuss issues with me.On the other hand, when I looked at my Facebook posts and thought a bit more about it, it seems that I have already been writing blog entries, though with a tool pretty poorly adapted to that purpose. with that thought in mind, I started doing some surfing to better understand what a blog is, or shoud be, and what makes a successful blog. I found several interesting pages, to which I am likely to return:
- How to Write a Blog: 12 Dos and Don'ts of Writing a Blog
- How to Write a Blog People Want to Read
- How to Write a Famous Blog
Nothing really special about that list, just a few likely candidates from a google search, but they contain at least a bit of wisdom and are based on far more experience than I possess, so I should give them some credence.
As I read through those pages a couple of things became more clear to me, the first is a rather consistent drumbeat to "focus" that is pick a general topic and make your blog really interesting to readers seeking information on that topic. This seems tough to me at this point, I could focus on management/career experiences, raising children, home improvements, politics, photography, my experiences growing up. I've already "blogged" about those things in various ways in the past and seem likely to do so in the future. Not exactly a sharp focus.
If my focus isn't a specific topic, perhaps identifying my target audience would help, that's a question much more to my liking, one I have asked myself many times as I started to address a topic. This is much easier, I've been writing these things for myself, my family and anyone interested in what I have been up to. The later set is likely best defined as friends. That also helps to define what success might look like, not hundreds or thousands of followers, but some family readers who comment on what I have written. Perhaps this is a form of an autobiography written in installments.
A name should reflect the content of a thing as best it can, while being short and crisp.
Since I am planning on making this Blog mostly about myself, my experiences, and my opinions, it makes sense that my name should be in the title. When my father wanted to lock his name into someone's memory, he would always say "Barrett, like in Grin and Bear It, just not spelled that way." This often worked for him, and seems appropriate for me to use. Making it shorter though would be good, thus the opening of the name "Bear It."
Putting the word "Blog" into the name seems an easy choice. "Bear It Blog" has a good, if really basic rhythm, labels the page for what it is, a blog. But it provides no insight into what the contents might be.
What are those contents going to be? Honestly, I am not sure at this point, but it seems fair to say that they will be "reflective" writings, at least they have so far. Most of my writing has literally been done on the back porch of our house, where I can think and write while sitting in an area that promotes, in me, thoughts that feel reflective. Thus adding "from the Backporch" to the title and giving me:
As I read through those pages a couple of things became more clear to me, the first is a rather consistent drumbeat to "focus" that is pick a general topic and make your blog really interesting to readers seeking information on that topic. This seems tough to me at this point, I could focus on management/career experiences, raising children, home improvements, politics, photography, my experiences growing up. I've already "blogged" about those things in various ways in the past and seem likely to do so in the future. Not exactly a sharp focus.
If my focus isn't a specific topic, perhaps identifying my target audience would help, that's a question much more to my liking, one I have asked myself many times as I started to address a topic. This is much easier, I've been writing these things for myself, my family and anyone interested in what I have been up to. The later set is likely best defined as friends. That also helps to define what success might look like, not hundreds or thousands of followers, but some family readers who comment on what I have written. Perhaps this is a form of an autobiography written in installments.
Why is it Called That?
Names are important, as are Internet addresses (URLs). They help people find things and they help people remember them. This is something repeated in all of the advice threads and something I have found to be true in many other areas. This means naming this critter is non-trivial and something I am historically poor at.A name should reflect the content of a thing as best it can, while being short and crisp.
Since I am planning on making this Blog mostly about myself, my experiences, and my opinions, it makes sense that my name should be in the title. When my father wanted to lock his name into someone's memory, he would always say "Barrett, like in Grin and Bear It, just not spelled that way." This often worked for him, and seems appropriate for me to use. Making it shorter though would be good, thus the opening of the name "Bear It."
Putting the word "Blog" into the name seems an easy choice. "Bear It Blog" has a good, if really basic rhythm, labels the page for what it is, a blog. But it provides no insight into what the contents might be.
What are those contents going to be? Honestly, I am not sure at this point, but it seems fair to say that they will be "reflective" writings, at least they have so far. Most of my writing has literally been done on the back porch of our house, where I can think and write while sitting in an area that promotes, in me, thoughts that feel reflective. Thus adding "from the Backporch" to the title and giving me:
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