Bay Blogger Thursday
Special, "You'd better recognize, fool" edition.
This goes out to all you new kids on the block. First off, a man wise beyond his years once said, "never act like you're an expert on blogging. That's like being an expert on Aaron Burr: only your mom cares." We respect that rule, which is why we're going to link to some guides on blogs by people smarter than we are: Anil Dash's "The Blog Cycle", Min Jung Kim's "Lifecycle of Bloggers" (which has been translated into over a dozen languages) and Rebecca Blood's "Weblog Ethics" from her Weblog Handbook [via George Kelly]. Consider those required reading. After the jump, some tips based on covering The City in the blogosphere for just short of a year. Add your own in the comments.
Additional snark by SFists Eve and Matt.
- Engage your audience, and respond when your audience engages you.
- Support fellow bloggers on the same beat -- there's room for everyone.
- Blogs are meant to evolve organically -- you can't force them.
- If you're in it for the money, good luck with that. If you're in it for the marketers, heaven help you.
- We just can't get enough pictures of your adorable cat! Really, she's just tooooooo precious. Who's a pretty kitty? YOU are, that's who. Honey, come over here and look at this ADORABLE cat.
- Address your concerns privately before going public, unless, of course, you're concerned with public behavior. Hell hath no wrath like a blogger scorned.
- As Dwayne Johnson says, "know your role" If you're the new kid on the block, defer (no need to be obsequious) to other bloggers in your space. The time to throw your weight comes later, after Defamer has linked to you a couple of times.
- Respond to email from people, (especially when they're offering to help you). It's just common politeness.
- Write posts that are actually make sense and are interesting to readers, and not just wanks (Morford, we're looking at you).
- Blogs were invented right here in San Francisco. Get to know the founders of the medium and respect their opinions.
- Being fatuous is a criminal offense in the blogosphere. Don't hold yourself above the fray because you feel superior.