Idle Thoughts on Blogging

I am still on semi hiatus so I'm just going to ramble a bit instead of doing a whole post.
Once in a while I break out of my newshutch aggregator and go take a look at the rest of the Kenyan blogs in the blogosphere.

This may not please many but things aren't what they used to be. I remember at one time I spent a whole day on the aggregator and had to work like a mule to make up for that lost time and this used to happen often. But now since quite a few old timers stopped blogging and for some other reason, if I look at the feed, it's only for a few minutes.

I am in no way whatsoever saying that the new blogs are not any good, au contraire quite a few are and they know themseleves because I constantly comment on their new posts. I think that part of the problem is that when many people start their blogs they don't have an idea where their blog is going. Of course it's your blog and you can write it anyway you want to but if you want to get readers it has to follow a formula that makes it readable.

First things first, your blog has to be original. Piggy backing someone's writing style and catch phrases only works for so long but if I want to read someone who writes like M, I will go read M and not your blog. I think that is a major part of the problem because too many blogs read the same and this is why interest is waning on the parts of many. We all have a unique writing style and opinions and it is best to stick to that and not other peoples'.

Second, if you are going to write a "serious" blog, you know the ones that have commentaries and all do it well. Be informed, conscise and to the point. This is because opinions abound across the whole internet and to be honest unless it is about an issue I need more information on I look towards the most informed and authoritative source or just make my opinion. Plus write and interact with your readers in a way that will make them want to come back to your blog and learn more and not like a sanctimonious know it all.

Third, if you are going to write a "technical" blog follow the first two sentences of the previous paragraph. Furthermore if you want to pull in readers write in a way that is understandable to lay men. I think some of the financial blogs in the Kenyan blogsphere would get alot more readers if they gave a link of commonly used terms and their definitions. Many assume that since someone is on their blog they know the meanings of all those terms which isn't the case as I do know many Kenyans do not know the inner workings of the stock market.

Fourth, if you are going to write a personal blog don't make it a journal (unless that was your intention). No one wants to know what you had for breakfast everyday, how long you spent in traffic unless something unique happened during that time. If people can predict what is on your blog, they will stop visiting it. But on the other hand (this is my own opinion) you can be as open as you want to be on your blog but I believe in staying within certain limits. It is fine to say that you got laid over the weekend, but when you go into every single detail your blog just turns into cheap porn (which may be your intention) . With the way many bloggers meet personally, would you want the first thing bloggers to think when they see you be your explicit sexcapades? When you are more than that? Matters of an explicit nature tend to blur out everything else. But then again that is just my own opinion feel free to bare as much as you want of yourself but know that the information is in public domain and may fall into the wrong hands, and may result in some interesting opinions of you.

Fifth, if you are writing an "activism" blog make sure at the end of the day it leads to some change. There are many activist blogs but in most cases they hardly lead to any action on the ground. Why? Because most of them reach out to the wrong audience. If you are trying to reach an International audience then a well publicised blog can work wonders. But on the other hand if you are trying to reach people in Kenya ie everyday joes about the importance of voting than a blog isn't the best way to go round about it. This is because we all know how poor internet access is in Kenya for most, so a newspaper or radio would be a better way to go. To be honest most activist Kenyan blogs are either preaching to the choir or talking to an empty room.
Make the right connections and seek out the right audience and this won't be the case.

Anyway I think this post is getting too long, so let me leave it at this. At the end of the day blogging should be fun (unless it's your job), it doesnt matter how often or how long your posts are but as long as you enjoy it, say what you want to say and fulfil your goals blog on!