UPDATE:
In the article, 10+1 Qualities of Bloggers and Our Readers, the third bullet was
- Bloggers love to disrupt the status quo.
Well, sometimes this blogger does, and sometimes she doesn’t. She sure doesn’t like to stir things up, when she doesn’t know she’s doing it.
A new blog comes with a learning curve, and this one came with an audience. I just showed what happens when you try to make friends with your readers just a bit too fast. Even with experience, it’s an easy thing to do. In fact, it might be easier because you know once the hellos are over, the real conversations start.
So if I might say one thing,
I’ve read the checklist over again. I agree with Richard. It has problems with the tone. The beauty of blogging is that I can fix this immediately. So I’m going to edit the checklist, but let the comments on the original stay just as they were.
Blogging Checklist For Emperor Penguins
1. Turn on the printer and print out this checklist. If you don’t have a printer. Don’t try to turn it on. STOP HERE. I know that you’re an Emperor, but there’s some things that you can’t do. Bloggers are friendly folks. Ask a blogging penguin to print it out for you.
2. Find your blog. If you cannot find your blog, get help from a blogger friend. If you do not have a blog, STOP HERE. This is a blogging checklist, you need a blog. But if I might speak freely, Emperor sir, getting started isn’t hard, and mistakes shouldn’t worry you. In fact, as a penguin you might find it familiar. Writing for a blog can be like etching things in ice . . . nothing on a blog is set entirely in stone. The rewrite of this list just for you is perfect proof of that. 🙂
3. If you found your blog, I fear, Emperor, you must go back and start with number 1. If you’ve forgotten what you’re doing or why you’re doing this STOP HERE. You might be like me and don’t do well with printed documentation. Go ahead and try a little experimentation.
4. Check off number 1, if you actually did it. If you did not, you ARE an EMPEROR penguin after all, STOP HERE. With all your penguin followers, you might consider another way to blog. Do what the mainstream media do–hire a ghostblogger.
My apologies to the more-enlightened Emperor Penguins. The time alloted for this checklist has expired. We’ll have to continue another time with the rest of this checklist. . . . 🙂
ALSO NEXT WEEK:
An Interview with INDIE
about his successful blog from Germany,
The Synchronicity of Indeterminacy (Say that three times quickly.)
Go visit to see what makes it tick.
See you then!
–ME “Liz” Strauss
