Feb

So You Say You Want To Be A Blogger?

If you are even the slightest bit interested in blogging, Little Miss Attila’s set of blogging guidelines is a must-read. Even if you’ve been blogging for a while, as I have, they are very useful and worth reviewing every now and again.

One of the first things a blogger needs to do, especially if the blogger allows comments, is to set up some editorial guidelines. If I could sum up Joy’s guidelines in something you could fit on a 3×5 card, they would look like this:

Link freely; quote only what it necessary.
Always credit your sources.
Don’t steal.
Have a commenting policy and implement it fairly.
If you are likely to publish e-mails you get, say so.
Minor corrections are not a big deal. Always explain major ones.
Respect the privacy of others. Write about them the way they write about themselves.
Find your blogging “rhythm” and stick to it. If you need to change, keep readers in the loop.

Stacy McCain has more to say about Joy’s post revision guideline. I like how Stacy has, in his time as a blogger, married his old-school journalism skills to new media. His advice is, as you might expect, solid gold. One of these days he’s going to figure out that he can actually market his experience as a journalist to bloggers who want to do more than opine. The day that happens, most of this great advice of his won’t be free anymore, so take advantage of his insights while you can!