10 tips for blogging (except I could only think of 7)

I don't usually blog about blogging, because that seems overly self-referential, but I've had more conversations about blogging in the past few days than I've had in months. It started with my last post about the trees. My friend who did the actual work of planting the trees also blogs, and we both ended up talking about trees and roots and growing things, so it's good to know we draw the same life lessons from these things. We were at the same barbecue on Monday, and told each other that we couldn't blog about it, to avoid the nearly identical blog post problem. I had a friend e-mail me that she is thinking of starting a blog, and when I went to give my neighbors my apartment key so they could take in my mail and water my plants, he told me that he was thinking of starting a blog. I had lunch today with someone who I hadn't seen in a year and a half, but she felt up on my life because she's been reading my blog (even though she never, ever leaves a comment.)

Anyway, I haven't done one of my ten tips series for a while, and I feel like telling other people what to do right now, so just in case you too would like to start a blog, here's my advice on balancing your blog and your personal life:

1. Blogs are public space - remember that. You never know who will come across it. I recently had a friend from high school who I haven't seen in years find my blog. Someone at work found out about it from his nephew in France. Never write anything that would destroy your life or someone else's life if they found out about it.

2. Be especially careful writing about your job. People do get fired for their blogs, so if you feel like beating your boss to death with a stapler, call a friend and vent rather than writing it down. Remember tip #1 - you never know who will find your blog.

3. If you are in a relationship, clear every post that mentions your significant other with that person. Your story is yours to tell, but your partner's isn't. Ditto for your friends. Don't blog about romantic relationships in the early stages when you are still figuring things out - that could come back to haunt you. There is a special dispensation for really bad dates with a person you know you never want to see again, provided you can write about it in an entertaining fashion without being cruel.

4. Do not bare your soul on the internet as a substitute for forming relationships with real live people. If you are sharing things on your blog that you are not sharing with real life family or friends, that's not a healthy thing. It's a bad sign if none of the people who are close to you know about your blog. I like having regular readers and commenters, and I very much appreciate the feedback I receive, but there is a difference between someone who reads my blog and a friend who sees all of me, not just what I choose to reveal. Virtually all of my friends and family know about this blog. Some read it more frequently than others, but I'm not hiding it from anyone.

5. No one said you had to write about personal things in your blog. If you would rather write about music or politics or ecology or cooking or whatever, feel free to do so and leave your personal life out of it. However, if you are going to write about yourself, then really write about yourself. Don't write about what you had for lunch or your cat - unless you can make it really funny. Write about the real you and be a little vulnerable. If there are parts of your life that you don't want to put out there, it's best if you just don't write about it at all. There are big sections of my life that I never talk about, and other areas where I open a vein on a regular basis - to each their own.

6. If someone who reads your blog wants to meet you in person, read their blog if they have one, meet in a public place and tell at least three people about it.

7. Don't blog when you are extremely depressed, angry or drunk. That's what private journals and friends are for.

My last day of work for two months was yesterday, so God bless the academic calendar. Tomorrow, I'm off to Piedmont, Oklahoma to visit an old friend for about a week. Not that she's old, just that we've been friends for a very long time. We shall hang out and visit our old stomping grounds, and her six year old son, who is actually a rather particular adult trapped in a child's body, is very set on taking me on at checkers. We also might be going to the zoo, so it should be a real good time. I'm pretty sure that Piedmont will be the next big vacation spot.

Don't know if I'll post anything while I'm there. It depends how many games of checkers I play.

Comments

[Lori]

hey...here's my first comment...ever. i love your brain and your heart! i just wish i could be in the same room with them more often.

[rebecca]

where are numbers 8 through 10?

so glad we're friends. hoping you have a great and restful trip... you're on vacation!

[Jon]

Good tips, especially #3, but you probably noticed that I do violate #2 on a regular basis. I believe that special exemptions can be made for people who either despise their current job and could live with a firing, or have high enough value in the eyes of upper management that their immediate boss's opinion is irrelevant.

[Tony]

Great stuff. I'm a new blogger, and have been thinking about these issues.

[Hugo]

Outstanding list, a fine reminder...

[Stuart Berman]

Here are some more good blogging tips:
http://kylem.xwell.org/blog/archives/2005/05/11/tech/techcomments/blogging-lessons-learned/