- Guest post By Erin Rivera
A personal blog is, to me, a misnomer. Other than being in the drivers seat as to its contents, what’s so personal about it? Isn’t the point to reach other readers? Because honestly if I just wanted a personal diary, I’d still keep it between my mattress and box springs. And I’m not gonna lie… even at my age, it would have unicorns or ponies on the cover and a cute little plastic padlock that couldn’t keep a two-year old out. Whether it’s posting personal photos, articles I find interesting, music recommendations or random ramblings, my primary audience is friends and family.
But let’s face it. Branching out from that and reaching strangers who want to read what you have to say has its appeal. And with user friendly operating systems and the plethora of blogging sites out there to get you started, it’s so easy for almost anyone to get into blogging.
If you’re like most people, you want to make your blog special. You want yours to stand out. Or at the very least, as in my case, I want to enjoy looking at it. Because if I enjoy it, then the friends, family and occasional stranger who stumbles across it just might enjoy looking at it as well.
The basic templates available to users are fine for getting started. But who wants a blog that looks like (potentially) thousands of others? So you have to get creative. In the interest of full disclosure, I did cheat a bit. Being barely conversational in html, I usually turn to my lovely sister-in-law for assistance. She’s responsible for my newest blog layout and can read code like she’s reading an elementary schoolbook. But what to do when she’s not available? (The Holy See of search engines, Google, doesn’t even need to be pushed here, right?) So aside from bumbling around with trial and error, has some great advice and straight-forward instruction for html, graphics, and coding of all sorts. I’m even tempted to delve into their Java tutorials next.
Another site I found helpful when first starting out was (http://onlinejournalismblog.com/2009/02/04/starting-a-blog-12-ideas-for-blog-posts/) I find #12 especially amusing given my present task, but I vehemently disagree with #6. That just seems like dirty pool to me.
So go forth and blog. It’s simple enough to do, and hey, it’s the interwebz. That means someone, somewhere, will probably want to read what you have to say. And if you feel so inclined, stop by, say “hi,” and listen to the birds.
