WHAT MAKES A GOOD BLOG?

What makes a good blog?

            A blog can serve many purposes. It can be a personal outlet of expression that includes our individual beliefs and opinions on everything from politics to religion. Blogs can also be used to catalog someone’s personal journey, either literally or theoretically. Blogs have been used by Olympic athletes to document the individual journeys of specific athletes to help create a larger fan base and to encourage a seemingly more intimate relationship with the athletes. In the case of COM480, it has been utilized as a showcase for our assignments in both this course and previous communication courses.

            Creating a blog was intimidating for me. I am definitely not a technically savvy individual and I usually shy away from things I am not comfortable with. Our blog was definitely out of my comfort zone. Evaluating my classmate’s blogs definitely offered great insight into the things that I could do better with my own blog. I’ve taken a lot of time to evaluate each blog and to find things that were different from what I had done. The process has been and continues to be enlightening.

            AUNDREA’S BLOG:

Aundrea’s blog was clean and crisp. Her back ground was simple and it transitioned smoothly into her design. I thought it was interesting that she had opted for her “about me” to be at the bottom of her page. I think that this can work positively or negatively for her depending on what the purpose of her blog is. If Aundrea is using the blog only as a showcase for her assignments then I think it is a great idea! It keeps the focus on her work! If she wants to use the blog for anything else such as networking or as a portfolio for future career opportunities, she might wasn’t to choose a different layout that allows her to put the “about me” at the top of the page so that people know who she is.

            CATHERINE’S BLOG:

Catherine’s blog was simple and easy to read. It almost felt relaxing to visit her blog. Everything was neat, tidy and easy to find. I also really enjoyed her “welcome” post which is something I will definitely be adding to mine. I thought she did a great job!

            RYAN’S BLOG:

Ryan’s blog was great! It was interesting and much trendier than mine. I love that his ‘about me” made it clear what he was about and what his blog was about. This is another thing I will definitely be adding to my own blog! I also thought it was awesome that he posted videos! Such a great use of media!

            The feedback I have received from my classmates has been excellent and so helpful. I have a few more questions that I need to address before we get into the holiday weekend, but I do feel like I am back on the right track. I appreciated that the comments I received were constructive and honest. It was reassuring to hear about the things they liked about my blog as well. As we enter the last week of this course, it is clear that I have some serious work to do on my blog! Not to worry, I have the babysitters lined up so that I can whip it into shape between now and then. A few of the improvements that I must make are the addition of a “Welcome Post”, an inviting and explanatory “about me” and I need to upload some of my assignments from previous courses. I also need to pay special attention to my design and layout. After all, this isn’t exactly a MySpace page and it needs to be cleaned up. I need to find a softer background and a simpler design. I also need to choose a standard text color such as black, white or maybe a blue, but it needs to be consistent.

           
I found this "how to video" that would have been so great to have when we started this process. Lots of good information and great tips for starting a blog.

 

 

 

 

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