Week three: Honest to Blog?

I know I've just broken the third of Jakob Nielsen's usability mistakes in my title, but I just watched Juno again and that quote came to mind...anyways....

After reading last week's intro readings to blogging in combination with the issues touched on this week, I'm finding myself getting pretty interested in the whole explosion of blogging. I even have the urge to start my own (after a remission of probably, oh, say 12 years?) but even considering this leaves me thinking about a few of the problems that have been addressed. There is a surprising amount to take into account. I've learned that one of the most important factors of maintaining a blog that is interesting enough to keep readers is keeping up with a publishing schedule, preferably posting very often, because otherwise you risk being forgotten in an instant, and people will certainly find what they are looking for in the countless other blogs out there. With this comes the problem of figuring out what could be important/relevant enough to centre your content around and sticking to that topic...I found the phrase describing irrelevant information as "polluting cyberspace" a bit funny, and so very true. Another crucial factor that I've noticed (primarily through my own personal blog-reading habits) is personality; you need an edge- a reason why people should read your blog over others. It's become a competitive realm in the information world, which makes it even more important to pay attention to every detail of your blog, regardless of its essence.

Multiple-contributor blogs bring up a whole slew of advantages and disadvantages that should be considered before becoming established. Have multiple bloggers offers different points of view and ranges of knowledge, creating an arguably greater wealth of information to the reader. As such, it is more diverse and therefore more likely to be less biased. I think this would create an overall more interesting blog. I can see this to be a great thing for a library to include on its website, as the different departments have the ability to merge into a collective voice, and alert patrons to various offerings of the library. Disadvantages of having multiple bloggers could possibly stem from this very thing, however, leaving the blog seem disjointed, as each individual has a different level and style of writing. I guess this is all subjective though.

If I were going to establish this type of blog in a library, I would first ensure that each contributor had a good understanding of the fundamental philosophies (including mission and goals), policies, and procedures of my library and stick to these principles throughout the different posts. I would also make it known that while each voice is appreciated as unique and has something different to offer, I would advise using personal statements only when it is appropriate.