The style of your blog, the font you choose and the design elements that you incorporate into it can all affect the way it is perceived and how your audience interacts with it.
The main ideas that are important to keep top of mind are: Theme, Purpose, Composition and Value. To determine what each of these consist of, start with deciding who you are trying to reach. Your audience can be a valuable starting point to help you determine how you want to present the information and what value you can bring them with your insight into your topic of choice.
Initially the blog was created by internet-savy users to highlight what they found on the internet and share it with others using mostly links to other sites and information they found interesting but they were not considered “valuable”. This disparity was explained by the article (Jenkins, H. (2006). Fans, bloggers, and gamers : Exploring participatory culture. New York University Press.) He noted that bloggers were the grass roots intermediaries between journalism and the general public.
The power of the blog is indisputable in our current society especially with the ability to integrate social media and individual creativity, and with the introduction of AI into the mix the possibilities can be endless!
The power of the blog is indisputable in our current society, especially with the ability to integrate social media and individual creativity, as discussed in the article “The web we need to give students” by Audrey Watters (https://brightthemag.com/the-web-we-need-to-give-students-311d97713713). She brings to the forefront the idea that students thrive in the internet arena by being given the creative liberty of their own digital domain, which she likens to a “radical act”. The learning opportunities are organic and sometimes surprising but the degree of confidence that increases once the student (and possibly the teacher) finds a solution is an undeniable opportunity for growth.
The creation of a blog can be both freeing and daunting to the beginner and expert in various ways. The beginner usually has a learning curve to overcome, whereas the expert has the challenge of keeping motivated to produce and improve in fresh and exciting ways. A fabulous resource for interesting approaches to creating and finding your presence in the blog space is Sam Oliver. Sam is a writer, photographer, cinematographer, and amazingly creative person in all senses of the word. She has great tips, advice and inspirational information on her blog for all kinds of pursuits.
Once you have decided who you are writing for you have your purpose. The next part of the process is deciding what you want to say. Important questions to ask yourself at this stage could be:
How do I want to show my knowledge? Starting from a strong idea can help direct the tone in which you begin your journey. Researching any points that you are unsure about can help strengthen your ability to communicate the information in a concise and genuine way that will help your words resonate with your readers.
What makes my post different from other already published ideas? You may share or build on the ideas curated from others, but it’s important that you take the time to understand and create your own ideas on what you put out into your digital space.
Let me know your thoughts!
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